


The Lost Lion- The Founding Of Overwatch

by TidalLion



Series: Overwatch Revival: Drabbles and Deleted stories [4]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Backstory, Black-op Liao, Body Horror, Drunken Shenanigans, F/M, Flashbacks, Graphic violence and gore in later chapters, I'm waiting, Liao Tracks Talon for years, Liao has two primary languages, Liao tests his own medical implants on himself, Military Characters, Minor Character Death, Omnic Crisis, Omnic War, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self Surgery, Sex scenes in later chapters, Singaporean Liao, War against machines, c'mon blizzard where's Liao at, founding of Overwatch, i guess?, references to a past relationship, self expirimentation, war scenario
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-03-17 15:13:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 32,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13661643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TidalLion/pseuds/TidalLion
Summary: "I've spent periods of my life in both peace, and in the shadows of an Omnic crisis. I thought war was a necessary evil, one where i may earn recognition, I thought I may one day become a captain. It wasn't until I buried my squad in the ruined streets that I learned that fighting a war wasn't about how long you could fight, but rather how much you were willing to lose to continue."A year after the recall, Mei ends up getting into a spot of trouble only to be rescued by the most unexpected of allies. Liao, former second in command of Blackwatch turned Talon hunter, is forced to act when he sees her in trouble. While their grievances and former feeling for one another fight among themselves, Liao begins his tale about the Omnic crisis.Starts a year after the Recall, a few months before Revival and a few weeks before Tales of an Oxton.Formally called "Lost Lion-The Story of Liao Lee", now it's own series connected to the Revival series. I wanted to keep the founding of Overwatch/ Omnic crisis separate from Liao's return to Overwatch.PLEASE READ THE TAGS. THIS STORY WILL DEAL WITH SOME DARK STUFF IN LATER CHAPTERS. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.





	1. Fire and Ice

**Author's Note:**

> What started out as a 5 page dabble to a friend, months ago has turned into a contentiously flashed out backstory for the most elusive character in Overwatch's lore, to date. I have yet to use all of the original drabble as i'm rearranging some dialogue to fit better in certain spots. As i thought more and more and Liao and who he could be, how he got his skills, my mind began to come up with more and more scenarios and ideas till they too joined the "backstory" and began to fill in the missing pieces. 
> 
> A 5 page drabble spawned a fleshed out idea that takes up 10 pages.

When she had agreed to speak at the World Climate convention in Lijang China, she had expected a barrage of questions about how she had adapted Cyro-technology for practical use in the field, she had expected to speak on the patterns and the atmospheric fluctuations.

She had not expected a barrage of bullets.

She supposed that she shouldn’t have been surprised when everyone dove for cover. Talon had been exceptionally active as of the last year. They had been extremely active in Asia in the last few months too she noted. Talon had been spotted in Japan, specifically Hanamura and had set off what the Western world has dubbed “The Gangwar to end all Gang wars.” Then there was the incident at the Bras Basah station in Singapore which had caused the country to practically shut Talon out. Malaysia had followed suit soon after. She had even observed and tried to learn more about the rise in vigilante activity in the area for the last week or more, but had failed to find anything.

The only reason they’d be here for would have been her technology and they must have expected resistance.

Luckily for her, she was on one of the upper floors when they breached the front door. She had heard the screams before the gunfire started. At the yell of “Talon!” She grabbed her gear and ran. Snowball chattered worriedly from the capsule as Mei fought the crowds, attaching the hose to the tank that was now strapped to her back.

“Just watch my back Snowball. God, now I remember why I didn’t want to become a field agent.” She mumbled diving into a stairwell and looking down. She couldn’t see anyone, but by the same token she couldn’t lean too far over the railing without the tank making her top-heavy.  Snowball chirped curiously, knowing his companion would understand. Mei huffed. “You already sacrificed yourself for me once and you’ve nearly been torn apart several more times. I’m not allowing you to put yourself at risk for me again Snowball.”

Snowball’s optic screen blinked as the drone’s expression changed to one of anger or frustration as he chirped repeatedly. Mei sighed. “Fine, you can scout ahead, but be careful. No one’s going to save us if we get into trouble.”

Mei sighed as they made their way down the stairway. She was right, she couldn’t call for help, and even if she did it wasn’t like anyone could or would help her. She knew she was playing a dangerous game, but it was do or die now. She refused to allow the technology fall into the hands of someone who would weaponize it.

 Not again.

________________________________________

Lijang was normally a bustling city, full of lights, sights and sounds that captivates one’s attention, often for hours at a time. To the uninitiated, it seemed overwhelming, confusing, and even intimidating. But I one knew their way around or spent enough time there, it almost felt like home.

Ironic how his father had been born and lived several years in the city before moving to Singapore. The man laughed and watched the city below his perch. It had become a routine over the last several months, to sit and watch the neon lights and the wonders of the skyline from atop the building. If one knew how, it was easy to scale the building, or at least use parkour to get up to his spot.

For the last almost 7 years, he had been in hiding, hiding after being brutally attacked by his commanding officer following a mission. He remembered the anguish as his predictions became true, his self-appointed exile to his home in Singapore. A year later he began to move frequently, tracking Talon.

His latest tracker had lead him to Lijang. He had lain in wait, waiting for them to make a move. They knew he existed, but knew not of his identity. He suspected that they either had figured it out, or they really were that dumb. He highly doubted that however. He knew the hacker they employed was smart. Unfortunately for her, he had near erased his identity, leaving very little to go on. He had taken great care to ensure that his status remained MIA.

However in his seclusion and lack of human contact, he grew wary. He was 48, alone and his thoughts were threatening to swallow him whole. He often wondered if it was worth it, to keep fighting for an organization that had laid as dead as half of its founding members. He remembered sneaking into the ruins of the Swiss base after crews had scoured it for survivors or the remains of agents who hadn’t made it out. It was sobering to him. He had spent his youth and early adult years in the Omnic crisis, fighting for his country as soon as he was old enough to serve. It reminded him of his squad, the one he had buried after he was left alone save for his drones.

Looking behind he saw them curled up together in a mass of shiny gold metal. They were hardly drones now, being rather large and outfitted with combat modules. He chuckled and was about to turn his attention to the streets below when he heard a loud crack to his left, followed by screams.

Getting up he looked over the edge, seeing people fleeing from several building down. Did Talon finally make their move? Was this what he had been waiting for? Puling the heavily modified SAR rifle off his shoulder he motioned to the Mechs behind him. “Think its show time guys. Let’s move out.”

The Mechs untangled themselves and got to their paws with a growl ad the man hurried down the stairs. If he was right, there was supposed to be a convention of sorts there that night. He was no stranger to covert ops, being trained as a Black-Op had really added to his already impressive repertoire. Not only that, but he was used to close quarter firefights where civilians were involved.

And judging by how Talon fought, either their soldiers were taught by someone in Blackwatch, or they were former Blackwatch… or possibly both. He grinned. That just made his job more challenging, but in a good way. Loading his combat HUD on his visor and terminal he leapt down the fire escape and dove into the shadows. We wanted to see if he could flank them. He also needed to get a good look at the positioning, so he knew what escape route to take.

Circling around the corner of one building, he saw several armored trucks, their back doors ajar. The trucks appeared to run on a FOB like system meaning he couldn’t hinder their vehicles short of actually digging around in them. But he didn’t have time for that. Peeking around the truck, he saw no one guarding the trucks. Was this a trap or were they really that sloppy?

Regardless, he took a side door.

With a great distain, he wormed his way through the venue, saying a silent prayer for the victims. Some who were still alive froze as he passed. Quietly he motioned to other survivors or towards the exits as he continued. Upon seeing that he had no malicious intent, they nodded in thanks and moved to help others.

Ahead, he heard shouting and gunfire. He sighed deeply and hurried towards the sound, clicking off the safety and aiming down the sights. The first shot dropped the soldier dead, the second rendered another’s leg useless. He rolled behind a wall and lay prone, crawling around the doorway and taking aim. His mechs on the other hand flanked the group, taking down and knocking out the others.

He had to find their coms, maybe then he could understand the madness. Kicking one over, he riffled through his gear, pulling the Helmet off in frustration. It was no one he knew.  Slipping the coms on, he made his way through the bottom floor. Briefly he wondered if he should take the employees stairwell up to the upper floor.

 _{“Delta Squad Report in Damn it! Have you secured the ground floor?”}_ He stopped and lifted his rifle once more, looking around. There was silent before the Coms flickered to life again. _{“Fuck! Beta and Omega Squads move to the ground floor. We’ve been compromised.”}_

_{“Omega squad here, Delta squad has been frozen solid. She may be getting away if she hasn’t already.”}_

_{“Damn it. Get down there and see if you can find her. We need her alive.”}_

Ah so they were here for someone. If that was the case, why did they need such an impressive force? Who could they have needed to warrant such an assault, to see so many civilians as “acceptable casualties”? Who would be important enough to catch the attention of Talon-

Then it hit him.

An entire squad frozen solid. A woman. Looking around he realized just what kind of convention this was. Adding haste to his stride, he headed for the stairs. There were only a few people he knew who knew anything about freezing and cyrostatis, and almost all of them were all dead.

Almost.

He had known Mei on a personal level before the fall of Overwatch, hell he had even had a major hand in building Snowball before they had left for Ecopoint Antarctica. He sighed deeply at the memory. His last memory of her was when she had blown up at him for stealing her research by Reyes’s orders. Reyes had wanted to see if there was a way to weaponize Cyrostasis technology. He had been caught before he had handed it over to Reyes, but then again, he had purposely made it known that he wasn’t a fan of the idea. Maybe that’s what caused Reye’s trust in him to falter.

His free hand reached up, hovering over his chest where his dog tags pressed against his armor. After their fallout, he had kept her ring on the chain so it would always be close to his heart. It had even shocked him when he had seen her on the news one day following her rescue in Antarctica. All he knew was that he had to be the first to find her. He just had this nagging feeling that something bad would happen to her if he didn’t. The coms were oddly silent. 

Motioning to his mechs, he watched them fan out head to find he door. They had barely gone 5 feet from him when the sound of a door opening echoed in the room. He dove behind an overturned table and lay still, scrolling through the terminal on his arm. Pressing on an icon, a video feed appeared on his visor. The Mechs had positioned themselves in a way that made them appear to be statues. He watched as a small blue drone appeared from the doorway, looking around before his “flippers” wiggled with a chirp. Slowly a familiar Chinese woman poked her head out.

He had to compliment her style, a white Suit jacket and slacks set contrasted nicely with the dark blue shirt she wore underneath. On her back was strapped an odd tank and a resting place for Snowball. She looked just like she had when she had left. With an air or nervousness, she stepped out and looked around. She took in the bodies of the soldiers and turned slowly to face the lions. “Odd…. I don’t remember there being lion statues here earlier…. Snowball, do you think our Mysterious Vigilante came through?”

The blue drone’s flippers fluttered as he returned to the climatologist’s side.  “We should probably get moving before anything happens.., can you scout ahead?”

Snowball made a cute sounds and raised high above her head and moved over the room, pausing almost overhead. The man looked up as the bot paused, looking down at him. He raised a finger to his lips and pointed at the door, hoping the mischievous bot wouldn’t blow his cover. Luckily the bot flew towards the door chattering happily. Mei had taken that as an all clear, passing by the man. An alert flashed on his visor, as one lion looked to the other. The mechs were asking if they should continue. The man crouched waiting for Mei to pass the doorway before he moved up.

Why were the coms dead? Did they figure Mei had taken the coms?

Peeking around the corner he could see Mei heading for the exit. He had to move up fast and catch her before she reached the main exit. That place would be a murder hole if any snipers had taken up position.

Taking a breath he moved up further, ducking into doorways to make sure his cover wasn’t blown. However on the before he was ready to make his third dash the com sprang to life. _{“Target acquired!”}_

“Freeze!”

Shit.

He looked around the corner to see Mei had frozen as Talon soldiers took aim. Instantly he threw himself sideways and rolled, squatting as he took aim. Before the Soldiers could react he, left lose, taking several out at the legs.

“She’s not alone! She’s- arrgh!!”

He dashed forward, changing his clip on his way. “I need you two now! Lethal force authorized!”

He knew the lion mechs were on their way, before a message flashed across the bottom left of his vision.

_On our way Operator Liao._

With a roar the Singaporean ran forward body slamming the woman out of the way as they began taking fire. Pain seared up his leg and his left shoulder as Mei cried out in pain. Growing he raised his rifle and landed three shots in another soldier, ensuring he was down for the count. “Get out of here Mei!”

Mei struggled to her feet under the weight of the tank. Her right shoulder was on fire, her arm near numb from pain. Blood soaked the once pristine white suit jacket. That voice... The armor…. No it couldn’t be. Winston had told her that he was missing, presumed dead before the Zurich base incident.

Winston wouldn’t lie would he?

“Well now this in interesting! I thought you’d at least disguise yourself.”

“The fuck are you talking about?”

“Give it up Spectral Saviour. We all know it’s you.”

“Spectral who now?” Liao growled forcing himself up as two soldier’s tried to flank him. He failed when a third joined the group, trying to grab his rifle. When he failed, the third soldier kicked out Liao’s good leg, forcing the man to the ground. The other two pinned him, while the third pulled the visor up off of his face.

Mei stood frozen. There was a slash across his left eyebrow and a deep looking scar just under the same eye.  His hair was the same style, his eyes the lovely shade she remembered. The man struggled under them, a mix of Singlish and Chinese flowing from his throat. Another soldier approached, his jet black hair cut short in an American style. He sneered.

“You don’t quite match up to your old description. You didn’t have that scar before. Horrible disguise you know.”

“Reverse psychology? Please, you’re not smart enough for that.”

The man quirked an eyebrow. “I’m smart, not blind.”

“Don’t Bullshit yourself McCloud. If you lot knew it was me, you would have caught me long ago, especially after Bras Basah. I mean the visor IS a dead giveaway I’ll admit to that. ”

“Did you at least chose a visor that won’t fail like last time?”

“I see that Gabe has friends in Talon. Good to know.” Liao tested the men’s grip.

“Makes me wonder just how much you can see.”

“I can see perfectly fine.” Liao growled, looking past them.

“Well we hit the jackpot boys. Grab Zhou and let’s-”

There was a crack as the sound of an ice spike stabbing through a soldier’s head echoed through the hall. Twisting to the right, Liao kicked the remaining soldier off of him and rolled back towards Mei. At the same moment the Lions skidded around behind McCloud and the approaching Talon soldiers. Liao reached for the pad on his left arm, the orange cybernetic design in his eyes glowing rather brightly as he flipped his visor back down.

“Fuck he’s got Mechs!”

“Take them out!”

“愿狮子保护我!” Liao cried as the lion’s roared, eyes glowing brighter. The male skid to a stop before the doorway to prevent further reinforcements, baring his right shoulder as the shield generator lit up in a warm blue light. Behind him, the female lion ran at him, using his back as a jump off point. The male threw his back upwards, adding to the height of her jump. There was a roar as she opened her mouth, panels on her body popping outwards as she belched fire.

“Mei go now!!” Liao roared, reaching for his rifle flipping the butt of the rifle towards McCloud. “Jiù zhǔ, prepare to cover her! Yōulíng keep the m pinned down!”

The lions let out a rumble of acknowledgement, as McCloud charged Liao, a knife outstretched. Liao flipped his own out with a crackle of electricity. The men stabbed and dodged back as they fought. Liao clearly at a disadvantage stumbled as he tried to dodge McCloud’s stabs. Falling back as the former subordinate made a slash at his neck, Liao tried to raise his gun when there was a loud hiss and a stream of frigid air. “Move!”

Rolling across the floor he edged back towards Mei as McCloud gave chase. Or at least tried to. His body seized as his legs froze to the floor, the rest of his body coating in a slowly thickening sheet of ice. Liao’s jaw dropped. “How-…. Did you really?”

“He’s frozen enough. Here.”  Mei offered a hand, pulling the Singaporean up.

“Fire and Ice huh? Even now we complement each other.” Liao leaned to one side as the hobbled. “We need to get out of here before they call for reinforcements. There’s likely snipers out the main door. God Yōulíng, did you have to incinerate them?”

Yōulíng growled as she passed through Jiù zhǔ’s shield. Liao sighed. “Great a pyromaniac mech. What’s next? Snowball being a cyromaniac?”

Mei smirked slightly. Liao had no idea how hard he’d hit the nail on the head. “Please tell me you have an idea to get out of here.”

“Side door, this way. Say, have you used that in first aid?”

“What? Cryogenesis? No.”

“Here try it... Please? If you can at least numb it from the cold, I won’t slow you down as we escape.”

“Just your leg then I’m assuming?”

“Yes please. I don’t care how much you’re tested it. Without Angela’s healing, I’m making us sitting ducks.” To his surprise, Mei agreed, keeping her stream trained on his leg until he waved her off. To their combined surprise, he was able to put his full weight on his leg with little pain. “God, and I though Sweden and Russia were cold. This way.”

Mei followed the man, watching the lions as they ran. “Winston told me you were MIA, dead after a mission.”

“I almost was. Angela saved me just before the Zurich base incident. It… things went to hell after you left. Were you brought up to speed?”

“I know the basics. Something about a slipstream project, the Uprising in Kings Row, then the fall and now the recent Recall.”

“Wow, you really are out of touch. I can bring you up to speed once we get somewhere safe.”

“We?”

“Yeah, you’re in danger now.  I mean… Do you need a place to stay? I have a few safe houses."

"I'm perfectly able to return to the lab thank you." Mei huffed, getting a combined whine from both Lions and Snowball as Liao paused at the door, poking his hand out then his head. Nodding to her, he slipped out of the door and into the alleyway.

“You’re going to be a massive Target to Talon and anyone near you will now also be in danger, but if you REALLY want to avoid Talon, I have some safe houses set up. We can lie low for a while and get a message out to the others.”

Mei sent an icy glare at Liao. She didn't trust him. Too much had changed in the world since the Ecopoint incident, not to mention the stolen Data. Snowball chirped worriedly. He was right, they were both injured, and needed to hide fast. She also lacked formal combat training, something he could provide. Looking to the massive lions she sighed. "Alright, lead the way."

“Right, this way. Snowball stay in that docking station of yours. My Lions and I are sturdier than either of you two.” The former Blackwatch Agent led her through the streets of Lijang, often letting the lions run ahead to scout as they kept to the shadows and back alley ways. She still wasn't sure how he was able to tell how the lions were communicating with him, but her guess was in some kind of cybernetics. Or that visor of his.

He was regarded as some kind of genius, the bastard.

A good four or five blocks from the convention centre he stopped them and sent the lions to look around, crouching against a garden wall as he watched something on his visor. Minutes later they returned, padding slowly to their operator.  Looking around he offered her a boost over a garden wall following a moment later with the lions. Looking around once more he opened the door and darted inside, making sure the place was secure before climbing multiple floors and entering a spacious Apartment.

The living area was spacious, leaving the man liberty to make a small office and bedroom in the one room. Off to the left of the room was a small work area across the room were two large pads that she could only guess were for the lions. In the center off the room was a futon pulled out all the way. A coffee table sat halfway between a TV and the end of the futon, two chairs flanking either side. Several thin pillows sat in front of the large window, casting the neon lights from the surrounding buildings in through the window. It looked rather beautiful, even in the dim neon light.

"Convenient. You're lucky no one has discovered this place yet." She huffed, surprised at how well kept the building was. The more she looked around the more lived in it seemed.  She noticed a few old newspaper clippings pinned to a huge mobile corkboard hidden in the shadows, while a laptop sat charging on the desk. Several old bottles lay scattered in one end of the kitchen, with an empty cardboard box.

"Believe me, I’ve had this place set up for Blackwatch operations for years. An old acquaintance of mine pays rent in exchange for favors and security. It was one of the few things I never told Reyes."

“Wait, when you said safe house, I wasn’t expecting a Blackwatch safe house.”

Liao shrugged, kicking off his combat boots and heading to a hallway past the corkboard. A few moments let he hobbled back, taking his visor off as he went. “How’s your shoulder?”

“Sore as hell. It hit me in the back.”

“Sit down on the bed, I’ll take a look at it.”

Mei huffed. “You think you can just show up out of nowhere, whisk me away into a Blackwatch safe house and you expect us to act like we weren’t at each other’s throats all those years ago? You expect me to just let you do whatever you like?”

“If by “do whatever you like” you mean “go hang yourself” then sure, why not? I’ve got nothing better to do.” Liao looked at her unimpressed. “If you want to suffer and let that wound get infected then by all means, continue on your way. I thought you’d want some help since you can’t see what you’re doing.”

“And since when you a field medic?”

“Never said I was, but after spending time in the Crisis and taking medical engineering, you pick up a few things. One of those things being unconventional medicine. I taught myself how to dig out a bullet with just a combat knife, while drugged out of my mind.”

“Ok, I did not know that nor did I need to.”

Liao shrugged. “When you don’t have the proper tools, you use what you have. At least now, I do have the proper tools. Now I’ll ask again, would you like help with your shoulder?”

Mei sighed and gently slid the tank off her back. “Fine but don’t gawk.”

Liao turned around. “I have no interest in what your partner gets to see.”

“I don’t have a partner. Not after you.”

Liao bit his tongue. He was shocked, but at the same time, reminded that Mei was a woman of her work. He stared at the door until Mei cleared her throat. Turning around he saw that she had covered her chest with her now ruined shirt. Kneeling behind her, he tinted the windows before turning on a light and set to work.

"Last time I saw you, your Lions were much smaller, like the size of a cat or small dog. Are these ones new?"

“Not quite. The small ones were small prototypes that I built when I was a teenager. I was developing these two around the time you left for the Ecopoint. The bodies are new, but their minds are the same. Essentially all I did was move their memory banks from their original bodies to these new large chassis.”

“Wait, these things are self-Learning right?”

“Yes. They’re practically Artificial intelligence in the sense that they’re self-aware and self learning. However what separates them from God AIs is the fact that they not only developed distinct personalities, but they’re intimately linked. They can share files and communicate like individuals, and even share experiences and adapt.”

“So they’re like your personal customization of those security mechs that I heard many Asian security companies use?”

“In a nut shell. There’s even domestic versions. However there’s a fair amount used in the SCDF and SAF, but nowhere near the amount used in Lion Force. Security and Military based versions have the same basic “memories” as mine. Basically, if another Omnic crisis happens, the Lions will have an idea of what to do and how to act.”

“Are there software updates? Like you –ow! - you mentioned memories being shared.”

“Sorry.” Liao sighed, soaking some gauze in some antiseptic, watching as Snowball took to the air above the lions. “More like exploit fixes if any. I’ve tweaked the memory files of the Lions used by the various details so that while they have experience with the situations we faced in Blackwatch, they have no memories of the sensitive details. I cleaned those memories. Mine however build upon that.”

Mei was silent for a moment. “When you worked on Snowball with Opara, you gave him a similar AI and personality matrix as your lions, didn’t you?”

“Yes, why how much has he developed? I’m genuinely curious.”

“He’s mischievous. Watch your socks.”

Liao snorted watching the lions rearing up on their hind legs to bat at the drone. “Out of all the personalities that have developed in the lions that my company’s produced, mischievous personalities are uncommon, but rather enjoyed. But socks?”

 “He loved taking people’s socks and hiding them in odd places. He was particularly fond of stealing Opara’s socks… What’s so funny?”

“It was an inside joke between me and Adams. Opara was the only person who never lost a sock during a wash. I made an offhanded comment one day about how we should start hiding his gym socks for funsies.” Liao laughed pulling his hands away from her back. “Adams took that as a challenge and started hiding his gym socks all over the lab. It seems as though Snowball picked up on that.”

“Is that why people started yelling that they ‘found his missing gym sock’?”

“I may have started that exclamation by mistake. I wasn’t even thinking when I said that.”

“I was wondering why it continued after we reached Antarctica.”

“Hmm…” Liao sighed.

“You almost don-“ Mei screamed loudly, looking behind her before her stomach lurched.

“Got it.” Liao grinned. “Easier than replacing my implants.”

“You still experiment on yourself?” Liao shrugged.

“I’d rather be the guinea pig and suffer than Joe Blow from off the street.”

“How much of yourself have you replaced?”

“I haven’t replaced anything that I haven’t needed to. In any implants I inserted myself, aren’t necessary to my survival.”

“What’s up with your eyes then? They seem… different.”

“Before the fall I was working on a HUD lens that would work either with implants or as a standalone. Either way would require some kind or implant or hardware, so I’ve been working on it further before I’m ready to push it to public testing.” Liao mubled, patching her shoulder up. “Did you want to borrow one of my shirts for the night?”

“Fine, but now let me take a look at your injuries. You’ve taken q few hits yourself.”

“Hope you don’t mind scars.”

“It’s probably nothing I haven’t seen. Oh, that one’s new. That wasn’t there when we were in Shanghai.”

“I told you so.”


	2. Eternal Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Legend says that a red string of fate binds two people destined to be lovers, together. It will never break although it may stretch thin or become tangled. 
> 
> With this in mind, it carried a caveat. No matter who your destined to love, part of a healthy relationship is to listen to one another, to hel your partner through tough times. But what happens if those though times involve the story of how the Omnic Crisis started? 
> 
> In short, Liao and Mei must decide on where the future will take them in terms of their relationship, and in the process Liao finially tells her the whole story of how he fared in the Omnic crisis and how he ultimately became a part of Overwatch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When i made this series, I had originally planned to write how Liao and Mei would reconnect and rekindle the flame that is their relationship. Along the way i wanted to talk about Liao spending his teen and young adult years fighting in the Omnic crisis. Somehow the omnic Crisis bit seems to have taken over a bit, especially since it's more interesting. Because of this, I'm debating writing The Lost Lion as a series, similar to Tales of an Oxton.... kind of a "Behind the scenes" if you will. However, I'm not sure just yet. 
> 
> Also, my apologies for the length. I know it's almost 20 pages in length -yikes I know- but hey, this is a big topic. There was originally going to be another bit to this chapter but I'm splitting it up into the second chapter. More notes at the bottom. 
> 
> Oh, and the Title for this chapter -and a song mentioned later on- is this one.  
> https://youtu.be/PD89oRiLdes
> 
> Also, here's the tattoo design that inspired Liao's:  
> http://nextluxury.com/wp-content/uploads/lion-guardian-foo-dog-mens-forearm-sleeve-tattoo-with-shaded-ink-design.jpg  
> The lions on his are smaller and it 's on his bicep/ shoulder to elbow and had a water dragon.

To Mei, Liao seemed different than she remembered. She remembered him as a wise cracking, sarcastic, yet playful shit-disturber. With him, he often tried to keep the mood light, trying to get people to see the brighter side of things. She remembered his wild taste in music, his spontaneous actions and even his nervous demeanor around beautiful women.

He was nothing like that now. Now he seemed almost cold, in an almost foreign way. Since she had met him the night previous, he use next to no Chinese around her, save for what he had yelled when ordering the Lions to attack as well as their names. He seemed almost jaded, cynical as he buried himself in work, allowing her space.

Many years ago, he’d often get her to open up and talk by initiating conversation. Now when she asked him a question, he opted for short answers, or low grunts or noises of acknowledgement. He seemed unfocused as he worked, as though something was bothering him.

She had no idea if he had slept or not. He had allowed her to sleep in his bed while he sat at the window watching the roads below, taking in the neon lights. Even after she had tended to his wounds. He had brought her up to speed as to what had happened during her slumber. It wasn’t the whole story, but it had the important points, giving her enough to be brought up to speed. She could feel the slightly raised bumps under his skin, realising that they were him sub dermal implants when she realized that they were glowing a faint blue under the skin.

Since then he’d been quiet.

Even the habit of him tying up his hair –which was in her opinion, rather handsome- seemed to be either forgotten or dropped. She watched him all day, even when she checked up on her work –after Liao assured her that it was safe to- but to no avail. When he took breaks, he returned to his spot by the window, watching the landscape below, ignoring the cold as the windows fogged after it began to rain. The cycle continued until dinner time, where he got up and managed to cook them dinner. She forgot the name of it, but she knew he had enjoyed it. Looking at him, she noticed that he was rather mournful looking. Like something wasn’t right.

“Liao?” she tried again. “Are you alright?”

He shrugged, concentrating on his food. Stubborn ass, she thought. “You look like there’s something on your mind.”

“You have no idea.”

Mei hesitated, considering how to approach the issue. Do you want to talk about it? I mean, it’s not healthy to bottle things up.”

That had his attention almost immediately, as his stare became centered on her. His normally dark brown eyes seemed almost orange in that moment. Apparently a nerve had been struck, and Liao was known for being rather…. Aggressive in some situations.

“…..” Mei swallowed quietly, as the man stared at her as if to say _‘Make my day’._

“Look, I’m sorry if I upset you, that wasn’t my intention at all. I just wanted to see if you wanted to vent, or just to talk.” Mei sighed. “I know I’m probably partially responsible for some of the things that may be on your mind, and for that I’m sorry. It just tears me apart to see you like this.”

“Like what?” he nearly spat.

“You’re like a shell of your former self. The Liao I knew I gone. It’s like you died.”

“I died a long time ago Mei. I died back before Zurich…. And Again after Zurich and the disbandment of Overwatch. “Liao stood, saving his uneaten food for later. “Things have changed, and I couldn’t stop it.”

“It’s not your fault.” Mei insisted. “You couldn’t have known.”

“But I did that’s the thing! I knew what Talon was trying to do, I figured it out but no-one listened. Instead they just walked in and did just what I thought they were going to do. They set us up and then used the UN’s politics against us. And the one person I thought I could trust, the one person I thought I could get support from attacked me.” Liao turned his back on her, leaning over the counter. “Next thing I know, I’m helpless and Overwatch crumbles around me while I watch from afar.”

“What…?”

“You don’t know what it’s like to live as a ghost. To live, knowing your friends are either dead or those who are alive, think you’re also dead. You don’t know what it’s like to take the lives of people who were your friends, people you helped train, you worked and fought alongside.”

Liao’s voice cracked. “A lot of people in Blackwatch sided with Reyes before the fall, and now they’ve joined Talon. I’ve fought to try to whittle them down, to thin their ranks like they had us. I have so much blood on my hands now. Ana, Jack are dead. Gabe I have no idea. I thought I had killed him until Angela saved my life just before Zurich happened.”

“Winston didn’t tell me-”

“No one knows… Well save a few of us from Blackwatch that got our before the revolt. Genji, Jesse, Nightingale…. We’re the only ones I know about who are still loyal to Overwatch.” Liao turned to her. “I’m cut off. I’ll be forced to answer questions, probably to answer for Reyes’ shit since I was second in command. I’ve been fighting since the UN shut us down and…  It’s starting to wear on me. I can’t keep this up forever.”

“Winston did tell me that Genji and Jesse left before the fall. Then he said you went missing after a mission.” Mei murmured. “They didn’t see the revolt coming.”

“I was ordered to replace Reyes and use lethal force if necessary. He was still armed at the time, I had just my knife.  He made a threat and I snapped and a fight broke out. I tagged him a few times but I guess it wasn’t enough.” Liao laughed bitterly. “Funny how the person I tell about Talon’s end game was the one who helped Talon play their cards right. By gravely injuring me, he silenced me. Angela thought I was delirious from the pain, until a few days after I began to fully recover, Zurich happened and she realized the warning too late.”

“And this plays on your mind all the time?”

“Among other things.” Liao admitted. “And now with you here… I’m not sure how to function. I’ve been in self Exile since Angela and I parted ways after my recovery. I fought with the Brass and Gabe to investigate what was going on in the Antarctic but no one wanted to go. I’m used to being alone, yet I know I can’t just leave you out there, especially not while unprotected.” 

“You still have feelings for me don’t you?” That touched a particularly sensitive nerve, as Liao’s eyes seemed to glow as he turned on her.

“Yes and I shouldn’t! We broke up because I lacked the spine to go against Reyes, because I proved that I was an untrustworthy bastard, because I’m a sneaky Blackwatch agent who throws morality to the wind just to get shit done!” He stopped in front of her. “Because I valued his respect over yours, over what we had. All because I didn’t have the guts to tell you about his plans first. I blew it, and I’m living with the consequences for my actions.”

Without another word, Liao turned away from her stalking down the hall to hide in one of the many rooms, ignoring her calls. Sighing, she threw herself down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, watching the gradually growing shadows as the sun set behind thick clouds. A faint chirr broke her from her thoughts. Turning her head, she saw Liao’s Lions and Snowball watching her curiously from the edge of the futon. “I’m fine… just disappointed… I thought we could talk about it.”

Mei’s gaze turned back towards the ceiling. “I guess not huh?”

_____________________________________________________

Liao had reappeared and taken his spot at the window when Mei emerged from the bathroom after her shower. Some kind of music was softly playing. It took her a moment to recognise the instrument was a Guzheng. “Is this a cover of Eternal Love?”

Liao looked up and nodded. “I can turn it off if you’re going to bed.”

“No it’s fine. It’s rather relaxing… Where do you sleep?”

“I sometimes sleep against the window.” Liao shrugged.

“Why’s that?” Mei asked. When she got to reply she shrugged, climbing into bed to get some sleep. She had just gotten comfortable when she heard his reply.

“I like to watch the lights. It kind of reminds me of home, of a time before the Omnic crisis.” She sat up quickly, watching the man watch the street below. He waited a few moments before he elaborated.   

“I remember being 12 and sneaking out with my friends during Chinese New Year to see the sights. We promised ourselves that we’d be home before midnight, but my mom caught us since she was on duty that night. Instead of scolding us, she sent us up to the top of a building so we could get a better look.” Liao snorted, sounding amused. “The lights and the decorations were amazing and just added to the usual beauty of the lights of the skyline.”

“You haven’t been home much at all since the Omnic crisis, have you?”

“No, not really.” Liao shrugged. “It doesn’t quite feel like home anymore. When I’m there, something always happens and I have to leave again. I had hoped to one day raise my children there, but that’s never going to happen at my age now.”

Mei knew better than to push it further. Nodding silently she rolled back over. _Maybe had she been too hasty in her decision? Was there even time? Even if there was, would he accept her again?_ Chronologically speaking, she was in her early 40s while he was roughly a 7 year gap.  Not that she had cared, nor did she care. Liao was Liao.

She wasn’t sure when but at some point she had fallen asleep. When she awoke, she noticed that he too had fallen asleep, leaning against the window. Mei didn’t mind as she go up to use the bathroom. She could see Liao twitching in his sleep. Not uncommon for someone who lived through the Omnic crisis, she mused. Even when she returned he was in the same spot, however two sets of large Orange eyes stared at her from the darkness, standing next to Snowball’s charging dock.

Odd, his Lions had gone into sleep mode early. Maybe motion detection? She shrugged and climbed back into bed. As she began to doze off, she thought she head Liao mutter something in her sleep but she paid it no mind. Again, she heard something and ignored it before the room fell silent for a moment.  Mei shrugged it off and began to return to sleep, still unnerved by the Lions watching her.

Until she heard a loud scream from Liao.

Jolting up she spun around, searching for him. His cry had caused both Lions to spring forward off their charging pads, ready to spring to his side. Even Snowball had been awoken, his LED screen looking rather alarmed. Liao had thrown himself away from the window, half crawling away from some unseen entity, holding his hand over most of his face, his voice laden with both pain and anguish. “You bastard! You fucking bastard! Coward! Traitor!”

“Liao!” Mei cried, springing off the bed to help him, the lions following suit. His sobs filled the room, as he tried to sit himself up looking around as Mei’s voice shattered the illusion of whatever his mind had conjured up. She knelt next to him, watching him carefully. “Are you ok?”

“Fucking nightmare… or memory of what happened rather.” Liao muttered, still holding his face when he began to calm. “Old wounds are flaring up.”

“Can you stand?” Mei asked, standing to help the man up. He did take his hand off the right side of his face, keeping it firmly on the left as he stood. “Come on, let’s get you to bed so you can sit there and calm down ok?”

“Fine.” Liao nodded, sounding out of breath. “I’m fine you two. Go back to sleep.”

The lions eyes narrowed in annoyance, but followed his wishes as they went back to their charging pads, their eyes watching the two humans with interest. Mei shrugged and sat next to him, helping him lay down. “Relax, whatever happened in your dream is over, you’re safe here.”

“I… damn I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Who attacked you?” Mei asked.

“Reyes.” Liao said shakily. “I’m taking this shirt off, It’s getting sweaty.”

“Go for it.” Mei shrugged watching the man take the clothing off and toss it across the room. Mei had to avert her gaze for a moment, forgetting that while he wasn’t the most muscular soldier, he still had a rather nice build. A perfect blend of toned and muscle, considering his training and mixed Martial arts and street fighting. She could have sworn at one point he had done Parkour but she couldn’t remember. 

Either way he looked good. The tattoo extending from his right shoulder to his elbow wasn’t helping either. The two Chinese Lions symbolizing his own, while some sort of water dragon coiled behind them, it’s head appearing on the right side of Liao’s chest, it’s gaze directed at the lions on his arm, the horns ending midway on his collarbone. 

Normally, Liao would look like a normal guy, like an unkempt business man who was a bit scarred. But given some kind of gear, or if his ink showed, he looked like a badass or a proper soldier. And given that he wore his dog tags under his shirt, it was easy to miss.

What she noticed now that he was much closer to her however, was the ring hanging from the chain. Funnily enough, kept both his SAF and Blackwatch tags on the same chain, the Blackwatch Tags hanging on a much shorter chain connected to the main chain. It was against those tags that her old ring hung from.

_He kept it?_

“Lee, take you hand off you face for me alright? I’ll put my hand there instead.”

He grunted but allowed her to do as she wished, repositioning herself to his right, as she laid down next to him. Putting her hand on his face she realized something, his face was marked with various old scars, some feeling deeper and more noticeable than others. One of the ones she noticed was the thick scar cutting through his left eyebrow. Where it ended she couldn’t feel.

“Did Reyes do something to your face Lee?”

“Yeah, he had some involvement in it…. Wait, did you just call me Lee?”

Mei chuckled. “I supposed I did twice.”

“It’s been ages since you called me that.” Liao grinned slightly. “God, people rarely call me by my first name now.”

“And here I thought I wouldn’t get to hear you speak in Chinese.” Mei giggled.

“It was a conscious switch I assure you.” Liao snorted, his grin growing wider.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Mei asked, the pad of her thumb gently stroking the scar. “If not that’s fine just say so.”

“Not now.” Liao heaved a sigh, his face falling. “It’s a hard memory to go through. But I will have that conversation with you eventually. I need time to work myself up to it. I’ll let you know when I’m just about ready to tell you ok?”

“Alright.” Mei nodded accepting his compromise. “You’re starting to grow a beard I notice.”

“Ahh, mind’s been all-over.” Liao shrugged, switching back to English ( _Not quite_ , Mei noticed, grinning broadly). “Haven’t shaved in a few days. I’ll do it in the morning…. Why are you grinning?”

_How the fuck could he tell for certain? The room’s dark!_

“I’ve missed the way you speak. As for the beard, keep growing it for a bit. I’ve always wondered what you’d look like with a beard.” She giggled, making a point of scratching the ‘not so quite stubble anymore’ growth on his chin, earning a deep laugh from him. “I’m a bit more intrigued by the moustache though.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you still have feelings for me too.”

 _Well he’s not wrong_ , Mei realized.

“As a matter of fact, when I woke in in the Eco point and saw everything about Overwatch and Blackwatch’s exposure, I thought of you first. When I was rescued I looked up everyone to see what had happened. I saw you were MIA, so I assumed that you died. I remembered our fight and I felt regret. I felt bad that I blew things out of proportion.  I… I couldn’t forget the look on your face when I gave you the ring back… I just… I’m sorry.”

“I was still in the wrong for stealing your data.” Liao admitted leaning back. “I’m an idiot. Easier to ask Permission than forgiveness.”

Mei giggled. “Consider this forgiven then.”

“We good?”

“I still have that snowflake bracelet you made me don’t I?”

“Yeah?” Liao Looked over at her, allowing her hand to slip down to cup his jaw, her thumb gently brushing as the few days growth.

“Then we’re good as far as forgiveness goes.”

“Oh, alright then.”

Mei smirked. “We’ll talk about us though in the morning. You don’t look like you’re getting enough sleep.”

“Ok ok, you win.”   Liao chuckled, looking over to the right side of the room at the still active bots. “Were you three seriously watching us to make sure we worked out our differences? This isn’t a soap opera!”

She missed his sense of humor.

 

It turned out that sleep was all they really needed. It also turned out that they had a hard time getting out of bed, due to them enjoying one another’s warmth. However food –and the insistence of Liao’s Lions- were a good motivator.

“So… about what I said last night.” Mei started, watching the man look up at her. “I was thinking that we could talk about that maybe this morning. Get it out of the way so we know where we stand.”

Liao nodded, interlocking his fingers and letting her speak. “Like I said, I might have been a little too rash in my decision after you stole my research. I still have feelings for you, but… I want to know if we can take things slow for a little while until we’re sure where we stand?”

“Like you want to make sure our feelings are still strong, and to see if we’d still mesh together well… especially in these changed times?” Liao asked, considering his words.

“Yes.” Mei replied.

Liao bit his tongue. She had a point. He still loved her, but with his self-exile, his adaptation to being alone and his acceptance that their relationship had ended many years ago… “Maybe you’re onto something. It certainly wouldn’t hurt. Who knows, maybe we’ll get the whole falling in love thing all over again.”

“You’re a sap.” Mei joked hitting him in the arm.

“Aww but you love me.” Liao grinned.

“You know, I wonder what it would have been like if the Omnic crisis hadn’t have happened.” Mei muttered. “I don’t remember much from before the crisis, and during the early years of the crisis…. It’s a blur. I couldn’t understand it.”

Liao pushed his dishes away from him. “Let me tell you, it’s better off that you don’t remember. I remember it, and it was hell. Just pure confusion and chaos.”

“You were only young then… right?”

“I just turned 13… Ever seen the Terminator Franchise?”

“Regrettably.” Mei nodded. “At least the recent remakes of the third move and Salvation were better than the Originals.”

“Then, you have a rough idea of what it felt like in the early days.” Liao sighed, looking past her and out the Window. She saw he look in his eyes, seeing the thousand yard stare. “The thing was, we didn’t see it coming, and the Omnics that attacked were good. Funny thing was that I woke up that day and mom promised we’d cook dinner together once we got home. We were on break when it happened….”

_Approx 36 years ago, Singapore_

“He didn’t say we have to use a specific design Liao. I mean we could take a quadraped stance and go from there. We don’t really have to use this specific humanoid design.”

The youth looked up from his books, brushing the small section of blue dyed fringe out of his face. He looked up at the older woman in front of him, her dark brown hair gently swaying in the breeze. He felt under dressed, wearing a button u shirt over a simple t-shirt and jeans while she wore a nice white top and equally nice pants. She was also wearing that nice blue white and black scarf around her neck.

It took him a moment to clue in and realize that he was staring. Clearing his throat he bushed a bit. “We’d make to miniaturize the design then. Otherwise, it’d be too large to do anything with.”

“Maybe, but you’re right. Bigger design means more resources… and cost” The woman smiled at him from across the table. Think Prof. Chan would object to us using a 3D model with our blueprint? I’ve got one done up on my laptop and we can easily make changes.”

Liao was about to respond when a loud “Hey!” caught their attention. Looking up they say a small group of three boys approaching them. “Why are you three kicking around? Don’t you have class?”

“Ah, Teacher got sick. Knew you two always hang out here.”

“Awful long way to travel to hang out then.” Liao muttered darkly. “You’re going to be late returning to class.”

“Seriously Lei? You’ve been following us around for the past three weeks. Give it up already.”

“No I haven’t Lan!”

Liao sighed and tossed his glasses down on his textbook. “Lei, Yao, Wang, look I don’t want to sound rude, but we’re working on an assignment together. You don’t want to be here, it’s boring.”

Yao smirked, leaning over Liao’s shoulder. “You sure? C’mon, we all know you just want to get with my sister man.”

“Yao that’s enough!” Lan shouted climbing to her feet as the three younger boys scattered just out of her reach. Her long hair swished with the sudden movement, catching Liao’s eye as he watched. “You know I’m too old for him!”

“Stop…” Liao mumbled in agreement, adverting his gaze as he pulled out his sketchbook. “We need to draw up the designs already. Lan, you’re right, lets draw up some sort of quadraped design. See if we can ensure stability and mauverability. Not sure about the aesthetic design though. Maybe we can leave that out for now?”

“Maybe you’re right… it would add to production costs.”

“Dude, how can he be so chill around her? It’s like nothing about her phases him.”

“Maybe he’s into older women?” Wang jumped in, brushing the bleached blonde hair out of his eyes. “Kinda hot man.”

Liao cringed slightly and let out a frustrated noise, feeling his face heat up. Maybe his peers were right and he was too mature for their tastes… that or he lacked the patience to put up with his friend’s behaviour.

 “Look, look! He’s turning Red!” the boys hooted, scattering again as Lan jumped at her younger brother. Liao started biting at his lower lip. It was true, Ever since he was young, Lan had been around and he had always liked her. When his IQ results had come back and he jumped multiple grades, it had put him in a rough spot socially.

His peers saw him as too busy, acting too old and mature for their tastes. To his classmates in the collage, he was too young to hang out with, rather uncool. One International student had even likened him to an “oompa loompa on crack”. Liao ignored it all. So what, he’d be a collage graduate at 13 –maybe 16 if he took the Biotech degree- not many people his age could say they had such an accomplishment.

Lan however had always been kind to him, standing up for him, offering to hang out with him and even offering to take him places. She was the best friend he could ask for, especially when friends and classmates were poking fun as his short stature. He wasn’t overly bothered, but he was feeling a bit self-conscious. Most of his friends had already started to go through their growth spurt

His father had told him to just wait for it and his mother had assured him that he was just a late starter, but still, his cousin was 14 and he was already starting to shave. It annoyed him to no end. It was bad enough that due to his age he’d be unable to get a job for some time, but time just seemed to be dragging on.

A sudden text broke him out of his thoughts, watching Lan return to her seat while her brother and her traded obscenities in Chinese. Unlocking his phone, he felt confusion as he realized the text was from his mother. Odd, she never texted while she was on shift. Tapping the message he felt his stomach drop.

_Xu Daiyu [12:18 pm] : GET TO AN EMERGENCY SHELTER NOW_

Liao began to shove his thing into his book bag, furiously typing in his phone with his other hand. “Lan! Pack your stuff. We’ve gotta move.”

Lan stared at her younger friend, confused by his antics while the other boys joked around them. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Dunno, mom sent me a weird text. She never texts while on duty.” Liao said looking up at her. “Hey! You three are coming with us!”

“Why? You paying?” Liao rolled his eyes feeling his phone vibrate as another text came in.

_Liao Lee [12:20 pm]: Mom? What’s going on?_

_Liao Lee [12:20 pm]: Lan and I are bringing my friends. Is something wrong?_

_Xu Daiyu [12:21 pm] : Lee, stop texting and get to safety now!_

_Xu Daiyu [12:22 pm] : I can’t talk, I have to get back on the road. Just know that we’re getting worrying reports coming in and I want you know that you’re safe._

“Mom says something’s going on and we have to get to shelter now.” Liao nodded throwing his bag over his shoulder as he stood. Lan quickly gathered her things shoving them into her bag. “If we go now, we should be able to get there if a warning is issued.”

“Gotta love Law enforcement parents.” Lan agreed. “Lei c’mon.”

“What about us?” Wang asked as Yao followed. “What’s so bad that you mom had to text?”

“No idea. She just said reports are coming in. Guess something must be going on.” Liao shrugged. “It’s nowhere near the drill.”

“Maybe it was some kind of weather alert? Maybe a tsunami or something?” Lan suggested.

“We would have been notified by now.” Wang shook his head. “Besides, Yao’s watching the weather and he haven’t gotten any alerts.”

Yao sighed and pulled out his phone. “Nothing that I can see.”

“What about other countries? Maybe one of them issued a weather alert.” Liao looked over his shoulder. For some reason he was beginning to feel incredibly nervous, he had no idea why.

Yao made an inquisitive noise. “Possibly, but I would have seen it by now. Unless it’s being broadcast on their Civil defense broadcasts… but I still would have seen something. Give me a minute.”

Liao looked up at the sky. He could hear something high above the in the sky. Probably just a plane or something…. Still something unnerved him. What it was he couldn’t quite place his finger on. He placed his hand on a small bracelet on his wrist and took a deep breath.

Many years ago his mother had given him a bracelet, telling him that it had been in their family for two generations thus far, passed from parent to child. It looked to consist of some kind of prayer beads, with a Lionhead acting as the clasp. When he grew curious, she revealed that she wore the matching bracelet on her own wrist. Something about Lions watching over them or something. Now it was more like a memento, just something he wore. But something about it comforted him.

“Got it! Guys listen to this. I managed to find an online broadcast for the American’s Alert system!” Yao called, gathering the group around them. With a quick press of his finger he turned the volume up.

_“-update on the current situation. At approximately 9:45 pm Eastern standard time, local law enforcement has reported that the deactivated Omniums have become operational again. Local Law enforcement is at a loss to explain this phenomenon but-“_

The message was interrupted by another series of beeps, stopping the small group as the message began anew. _“We interrupt all regular programing to bring you this Civil Emergency Message. This is a National Emergency. All broadcast and cable systems shall transmit this message. The following is transmitted by order of the United States government and the United States Military. All citizens are being asked to evacuate major cities and road ways and return to their homes or safe shelter._

_At this time, The United States Military has confirmed the reports of re-activated Omniums and omnics attacking humans. The United States Military is at a loss to explain how or why the Omniums are operational again or why Omnics are attacking humans. At this time, reports are coming in of militarized Omnic Units attacking major metropolitan cities_

_We are also getting reports that at this time, many other countries such as India, Germany, Russia, France, Egypt, Australia, and Mexico are all reporting Reactivated Omniums and Omnic attacks…”_

“EBS Hasn’t kicked in yet. What the hell’s going on?” Wang interrupted looking up at the sky.

“Maybe we’re safe.” Lei suggested.

“Doubt it.” Liao shrugged. “Malaysia has an Omnium.”

“Here’s what gets me. What would reactivate the Omniums?” Lan asked, crossing her arms. “They have to be reactivated manually.”

“Maybe there was some kind of reactivation sub process in the programing?” Yao muttered. “Still, this doesn’t make sense.”

“Why would the Omnics attack up though? We haven’t done anything.”

Liao thought for a moment. “Maybe they see the shutdown as an attack against them? Still, even that doesn’t make sense.”

Any further conversation was lost as they all looked up. To the casual observer, it sounded like an odd car alarm, echoing throughout the city. But to the small group they knew exactly wat it was before their phones began to vibrate.

Liao was right. It was nowhere near the time to test the alarm signal.

“Oh shit. Your mom was right.” Yang looked up. “We gotta go now!”

“Don’t panic idiot! You’ve gotta stay calm.” Lan chastised as a loud concussive blast echoed through the streets, making everyone pause. “What the fuck was that?”

“I don’t think we want to know.” Liao motioned. “C’mon c’mon! we’ve got to go!”

_Xu Daiyu [12:27 pm] : please tell me you’ve got to shelter by now._

_Liao Lee [12:27 pm] : Almost there. Heard something about Omnics from the American broadcast. This is all just a precaution right?_

**_Message failed to send. Tap to retry._ **

“Lan can I borrow your phone? Mine’s not sending messages.” Liao looked up at the older woman who was frowning at her phone.

“Would but no signal.” She said showing her his phone. “Lei?”

“No signal either. Data’s cut off. Yao?”

“Social media’s been blacked out in Malyasia apparently… hang on…” Yao tried to refresh his apps. “Shit. Lost the American and SCDF Alert channels..”

“Are we being blacked out too or did something happen to the signal?” Liao began looking around. There was a sudden loud squeal as the Alert signal cut off suddenly, the final echoes fading into obscurity. “I don’t like this.”

“We shouldn’t be far from a shelter right? Let’s move.” Yao said shoving his phone into his bag, looking up as the blast sounded again. “Oh my god”

They all looked up, watching as large Orange objects began falling from the sky, some of the objects unfolding as the fell, unpacking themselves into large bipedal omnic units, complete with a Gatling gun on their back and a rifle on their right arm. Their red optics glared around as the stood up completely, the rifles aiming at anything that moved.

“RUN!” Someone screamed as the teens ran down the road. The Bastions began to open fire, firing at cars and the people in the street. The guttural growling of the machines behind them put them on edge, the gunfire blocking out the sound of anything else.

“Zig-zag!” Liao cried over the din. “Split up and meet at the Clarke Quay!”

The teens ran for it, leaping over now abandoned cars and using anything as cover to avoid the gunfire as the Bastions marched through the streets. Liao was gone in a flash, running harder than he had ever run in his life. The smoke and debris began the cloud the air, adding a thickening haze to the area. Ahead of him he could see the orange of fire, the armor of bastions and red of- he swallowed and tried not to think of it.

He almost lost his footing on the shattered glass of a storefront, throwing himself into a wall to stay upright. His hand stung as the jagged glass bit into his palm. Looking ahead he saw the shattered remains of a bus, blocking part of the sidewalk. His only path would be through the bus or around it. The side street was empty but lead to more death by the looks of things.

_What the hell is going on? How the hell are we going to get out of this?_

Pausing and crouching low, he edged around the bus. Maybe he should zigzag a bit wider, stay closer to his friends. That or hold up and wait for them-

Without warning bone crushing grabbed him by the right shoulder, making him cry out. He tried to squirm, freezing as his head turned to face the long rectangular red optic of a Bastion unit. He heard a growl from the omnic as the Bastion’s body swung pitching Liao across the road. Liao landed with a dull crunch, rolling into the center lane as the omnic adjusted itself watching Liao pick himself up.

Liao looked, up forcing himself to move to safety. The doors to the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce were still open. He knew Hill Street well enough, there was a way to get over onto North Bridge road. Before he could stand fully he heard the Bastion rotate and lock into position as it configure to turret mode.

_Fuck._

With a yell he made a dash for it, the Omnic’s sights being off as it hit the archway around Liao, weakening it under the roof. Before he could reach the door, a slab of concreate cracked, falling directly in front of him. Turning around he dove to the left, covering his head as the archway began to crumble around him. He pitched forward losing his balance as something solid his him in the back of the head, the Omnic’s gunfire fading into obscurity as the crumbling of wood and concreate echoed around him.

Then… silence.

He knew his head hurt, his shoulder ached like hell…. But otherwise he could move for the most part… How long was he out for? Lifting his head, he saw a fairly sizable gap between two layers of debris. He wondered if he could slip out, glad for once that his stature and frame were still small. Then he saw movement and paused, a shuffle and a hushed whisper. “Liao?”

Liao sighed. “Wang? Are you guys safe?”

“Yeah that Metal fucker took off… We aren’t seeing anything. Yao Lei, help me move this.”

“I don’t think you can boys.” Lan’s hushed voice came. “Can you move?”

“I’m a bit sore but yeah I think I can. Let me pass my bag out first.”  Liao hissed carefully pulling his book bag off and pressing it to the gap. “Oh yeah this can get through no problem.”

“Here... use these as a leaver. Ready boys?”

“Ready sis.”

“One two three…. Hup!” The concrete slab moved up slightly. “Hurry up.”

“I can’t get through that.” Liao hissed crawling to the gap anyway.

“Squeeze.” Yao said looking around. “Hurry up, we can’t hold this forever.”

Liao exhaled deeply and slowly began to wedge himself through the gap, trying to use his back and knees as leverage to help push the slab up further. “No give.”

“If an omnic comes, we’ll have to drop it and run.” Yao urged as Liao pulled his head and shoulders through the gap.

“Nice to tell me now. I’m fond of my ribs you know.” Liao grunted. “Nothing to help prop this up?”

“Liao!” the four hissed as Liao used his hands to grab a piece of rebar. Using all his strength he used it to pull himself out, stopping when his pants caught on something. “Bugger.”

“What?”

“I’m stuck.” He looked down. Waist is too thick.”

“You’re joking.”

“I need to put this down.” Wang grunted letting go suddenly, causing Liao to grunt and groan. “Hang on, I’m looking for something to help prop it up while we rest.”

“Fast… that shift is crushing my lungs you idiot.” Liao shot him a look.

“Here…. Found a chunk of rock.” Wang said, trying to roll the rock. “Lay it on top of this.”

“I hope this works.” Lan muttered, easing the slab back down as the rock was placed against Liao’s side.  “Wait shouldn’t we move it down a bit more to allow more room?”

“We can’t, there’s another slab to the right.” Liao shook his head. “The rebar’s digging into my leg. I just hope what’s left of the arch doesn’t give way or we’ll really have a roof over our heads.”

Lei paced back and forth staring at Liao. “Waist too big? You need to cut back on the snacks.”

Liao glared in reply. “Fuck you.”

“Lei this isn’t the time.” Lan chastised her younger brother. “We need to get him out of here.”

“Ok ok, but you’re not going to like this.” Lei rolled his shoulders. “Take off your pants.”

“What? Stop joking.” Liao squeaked.

“I’m not. Besides, no one’s around that cares.”

“Look I’ll turn around if it matters.” Lan shrugged. “As long as we get you out of there before another omnic shows up.

Liao thought and sighed using on hand to reach down do undo his pants. “Never thought I’d regret the day I wore this belt.”

Lan turned around as Liao struggled to loosen his belt, letting his pants sag so he wouldn’t have to take them completely off. “Boys… Lift please.”

Lan turned around holding Liao’s bag in her arms as the three boys lifted again. With some difficulty Liao wiggled out, pulling his pants back up with great haste as he stood. “This pants thing never happened, agreed?”

“But-“

“Agreed.” Lan said, waiting for Liao to approach her before turning around and giving him his bag back. “C’mon boys, give him his dignity back.”

Liao paused and looked around. The roof had partially come down as he had thought, but it was propped up by one of the lion statues flanking the door. The male lion’s once mighty head now lay smashed, the remains helping to prop the roof up just enough. Looking down at his bracelet, he remembered what his mother had said about the lions protecting him.

Maybe she was right. In the moment, he felt a stroke of inspiration tough his mind. Whipping out his phone he held it up to the doorway and the Lion statues.  

“I’m surprised the SAF hasn’t made a move yet.” Wang said looking around, coughing as the air began to thicken with the new addition of falling ash.

“Maybe they couldn’t, or maybe they’re just not in this area.” Liao pointed out shouldering his bag as they continued. “Anyone’s phone have a signal yet?”

“Nope. Guess the Omnics are cutting coms… Now we know what happened in Malaysia.” Yao agreed.

“Man, our dads are going to have their hands full.” Lei said looking around for Bastions, motioning when the path was clear.

“Your dads maybe. Mine’s a mainlander remember?” Liao muttered. “Business man with a heart problem. Uncle’s Mainlander too.”

“They wouldn’t fight?”

“Only in the board room. Dad and Uncle are the type to support a war because they could try to make money somehow.” Liao shrugged. “C’mon, we need to get to the Clarke Quay.”

The walk was Long and tedious, the sky clouding over with smoke, making the city around them look dark and foreboding. At one point they had to force themselves to stop for food and water. They hated to do it, but they dodged into a now destroyed convince store and took some food and water. Lan had the foresight to grab medical supplies before they left, just in case.

They quickly found that the Clarke Quay had been a bad idea to pass through. They stood on the bridge, watching the smoke billow through the area, the victims of the Omnic onslaught being the only proof of what happened. The water had turned a murky brown, the only sounds being that of gunfire and the crackle of fire.

Nodding in agreement, they kept going, pausing and taking their time as Bastions patrolled the areas they passed through. The further in they got, the more they saw signs of resistance. Now burned out police cars lay on their side, or right side up, torched or riddled with bullet holes. Several officers lay scattered amongst civilians as well as the bodies of some omnics, both aggressors and civilians.

Liao moved slowly through the officers, trying to see if his mother or her friends lay amongst the dead. Fortunately, he hadn’t seen his mother yet, but many of her friends had perished in their attempt to fulfill their duty.

Following the road they hid several more times as a platoon of Bastions marched past, searching for any who might have escaped their hunt. The teens pressed on, searching for some kind of shelter. Using Lei’s phone, they realized that it was beginning to get late, and the already dark sky was darkening further. They needed to find shelter fast. That or transportation.

“I can’t keep this up.” Wang groaned. “My feet feel like they’re going to fall off.”

“Just a bit further.” Yao insisted. “Why is it that all these cars are either shot out or don’t have keys?”

“Or fuel.” Lei added.

“Well there’s a hospital up ahead.” Liao shrugged. “Maybe we can find help there, if not it could be shelter, have some supplies and maybe we can find a vehicle.”

“None of us can drive.” Lan pointed out. “I’m the only one old enough to.”

“I think we’d be forgiven. I mean it is an extenuating circumstance.” Liao shrugged. “Ok Bus Stop looks clear. I think I see another police car up ahead. I want to check it out.”

“Dude, just stop it. You mom’s probably dead or in a shelter somewhere.” Wang shot back. “I’m not dying because you want to look for your mother.”

“Don’t be an ass.” Liao shot back. “Come on.”

The teens slowly cut through the grass to the police car. As they approached, they saw someone sitting upright in the driver side, leaning back against the seat. Liao suddenly froze before continuing, his pace hastened. “Wang get your ass over here and help.”

“Don’t tell me that’s your mom.” Wang hissed as the teens ran to keep up.

Sure enough Xu Daiyu was leaning back against her seat, one hand loosely gripping the steering wheel, the car parked where it had crashed against the curb. Oddly the car was off, meaning that the car had probably run out of fuel. Trying the door Liao opened it half pulling himself in. “Mom? Mom can you hear me?”

There was a weak groan as her eyes fluttered open. “Lee?”

“Oh fuck off.” Yao let out a quiet whoop. “She’s alive.”

“Lee, I told you to get to shelter.” Daiyu mumbled, trying to sit up. “You shouldn’t have come looking for me.”

“Omnics hit before we reached the shelter. Didn’t have a choice.” Liao offered. “Are you ok?”

Daiyu shook her head looking up at the group. “Bastion took out a few of us, and I took a bad hit in my thigh. I was trying to get up here to get survivors and get patched up. What time is it?”

“About 5ish.” Lei supplied as the group looked down and noticed the thick white bandage tied around her upper right thigh, soaked a dark crimson.

Daiyu swore much to the group’s shock. “I’ve been in an out since I’ve been shot then. Blood loss. Great.”

“What’s going on mom? All we know is that this is global and we haven’t seen any sign of the Military yet.”

“I’m not sure where to start my son. All I know is that we started getting reports of Omniums being activated around the world, then an omnic makes it into the PM’s office and gets her to safety then we were hit before the alarms went off.” Daiyu shifted, her hand flying to the spot where she’d been hit. “The Omnics started hitting us from the south East and the North…. What wasn’t airdropped in that is.”

“And the Military?” Lan asked, crouching beside her.

“Overwhelmed in the initial attack. We have the rest of the Island secured, last I heard, but it’s a chore to evacuate people and keep them safe. The SAF has enough forces active right now to keep the Omnics from advancing. Lee have you heard from your father or Uncle yet?”

Liao shook his head. “No. Phones are down.”

“Damn! Omnics must have taken out communications. We lost all comms when they hit. They’re nothing if not effective.

“We need to get you to safety mom. Move over a seat.”

“Lee you can’t drive.”

“Not going to stop me. I’ve been in this car enough with you to know what to do. And you’re still here right?” Lee shrugged. “We’ve been walking all day, we need transportation.”

Daiyu was about to protest when she looked at the weary teens. Her son was right. “Fine, I may need help walking though. I can’t put weight on my right leg.”

“I’ve got you.” Lan offered, helping the officer up out of the seat. “You weren’t in the car when you were shot were you?”

“No, I was standing. The shot took me out and I crawled to safety. Got to my car and sped off while patching myself up. I wasn’t just going to sit idly by.” Daiyu cried out as she was helped to her feet. “It should still have gas.”

The teens piled in, Lei sitting in his sister’s lap in the back of the squad car. Liao had been right. His mother had snuck him into the car a few times and shown him how the car worked, but being in the driver’s side was a new experience. He turned the key and heard the car’s engine turn over.

“Half a tank. Enough to get us away from here.” He sighed. “Where’s the nearest safe place?”

“Queenstown. Avoid the toll road if you can. And no siren for the love of god.”

_______________________________________

For being Thirteen years old, Liao wasn’t bad behind the wheel. He had to move the seat up a bit sure, and he turn some of the corners a bit hard, but for a first time driver he wasn’t doing bad. Their supplies helped Daiyu, especially the water. They also felt safer having another adult with them and while Daiyu had managed to grab some gear from the station, it was useless to them. Daiyu was injured and with her fading in and out of conscious, she was unable to use the gear and the teens lacked the training.

Before long night had fallen and they were approaching Queenstown. By then Daiyu had completely passed out, alive but not for long. Liao knew she needed medical attention and fast. Reaching over, as he paused at some rubble, he reached over and un-holstered her gun, feeling nervous. Sliding it into his waistband he grabbed the ammo prom it’s pouch and slipped it into his pocket. He’d grab her taser at the next stop. Creeping the car forward, he scanned the area.

“I can’t see shit.” Yao whispered from the back.

“I’m not seeing any red, but I am seeing something up ahead.” Liao hissed back. “Think it’s the blockade?”

“I hope, else we’re sitting ducks.” Wang hissed back.

Liao gulped and continued to creep closer, jamming the breaks on when he heard gunfire. “Oh God.”

The group listened hearing heavy gunfire followed my lighter more precise shots before everything went silent again. Liao gulped and crept further ahead finally seeing bright lights ahead. Flicking the lights up on the car, he pressed the car for what little gas it had left, speeding towards the lights.

“Where are we?” Lan asked from the back.

“No idea, but hopefully this is the blockade.” Liao called back making out humanoid shapes ahead. “Thank god!”

Reaching down between the dashboard and the seats he pressed two buttons. The first flashed on the lights, the red and blue signalling to the blockade, the second sounding the siren in two short bursts, a loud bass catching anyone’s attention. The car slowed to a crawl as several soldiers approached before Liao threw the car into park.

“Identify yourself driver!”

“Liao Lee. I’m carrying my friends and my mother. She needs urgent medical attention!” He called through the window, watching the soldier inspect the car.

“Drive up to the tank then exit the vehicle. Once you’ve exited, you’ll be escorted inside to registration- You’re just a kid!”

Liao huffed. “I’m the only one who knows the car, and my mother was watching me until an hour or so ago.”

“Alright drive up.”

Liao nodded, waiting for the soldiers to back away before parking the car near the tank and shutting the car off. “Lan, help me with mom ok?”

“We’ll get her.” Another Soldier replied. “What’s her name?”

“Xu Daiyu.” Liao supplied. “We found her near the Singapore General Hospital. We came from Hill Street.”

“That’s a fair distance.” The soldier replied picking Daiyu up in his arms. “and you said you’re Liao Lee correct?”

“Yes sir.” Liao nodded.

“We’ll send someone to find you if needed. Private! Escort these young people inside and make sure they’re looked after.”

Liao watched as the soldier jogged inside, carrying his mother. He felt a great feeling of dread in his chest as they were lead inside. He sighed deeply and followed along, scared for what the future held. Luckily Registration only covered a literal registration and a quick check up.

Before he knew it, he was waiting on the steps outside for his friends. Yao arrived first saying that he was headed to find his parents nearby, followed by Wang who stuck around as his father was on the front lines.

Lei and Lan emerged finally, looking down. They unfortunately had been hit with the worst news. Their mother had been killed on the onset and their father was currently MIA, having not responded to the call of duty. Liao sighed.

“Nothing from Uncle or dad or even auntie yet.”

“And your mother?” Lan asked sitting next to him, watching people mill about.

“Taken to Alexandra Hospital for treatment. They stabilized her here as best as they could, but she needs further treatment.” Liao shook his head, checking his phone. It had appeared that in Omnic controlled Singapore, the Omnics had shut down comms. Even the Military was having trouble keeping comms open in Omnic territory.

“It’s not looking good around the world.” Yao said, looking up from his phone. “Many places are getting hit hard. The UN’s borderline useless…. But hey the PM got out ok.”

“What are we going to do now?” Lei asked. “We’re screwed.”

Liao thought for a moment, leaning back and thinking. “Lan, when you were registering, didn’t they tell you something about the Universities opening their doors to students who want to continue or contribute to the war effort?”

“Yeah.” Lan nodded. “Why?”

Liao pulled out his phone and wet through his pictures, handing his phone to her. “Remember what you said about the Quadraped design and the aesthetic design? I think I have an idea.”

Lan looked at the picture of the two lion statues, and her eyes lit up as she realized what he was thinking. “Guardian Lions.”

“Exactly! Let’s go finish our degree and see how we can put them to use against the omnics.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was in Singapore in Feb 2016, I was staying in a hotel Close to Hill street and quite a few times I passed by the Singapore Chinese chambers of Commerce. The Lion Statues always stuck out to me. At the time, I knew basically nothing about Overwatch but being an artist, the Lions inspired me. 
> 
> I got a picture -it turned out terrible sadly- and i thought nothing of it until last summer -2017- when i started to get heavy into the OW lore. I started toying around with who Liao was and i was thinking about his kit. One day i was playing on the Lijang map and i ran past the lions and thought "what if they came to life suddenly and attacked?" 
> 
> That's when it happened. I then tried to think of why Liao would think of a Lion design and then i remembered the Lion statues at the Singapore Chinese chambers of Commerce and had the mental image of someone being under the roof when it came down, stopped only by the head of one of the statues. After researching the statues a bit I started working on the Lion mechs and Liao's bracelet. 
> 
> I was originally going to ask my friend Tino and Nightingale to beta this chapter, until i checked and found that it took up 20 pages (gosh I need a Beta). So yeah, I'm trying to go by memory of what I've seen of Singapore, while referring to google maps for locations to give people a sense of where Liao is in relation to the crisis. 
> 
> Also, i'm making a jab at myself about the SCDF siren. On my last day in Singapore, i was in my hotel room packing for the trip home, unaware of the siren test. To me -on the 10's floor- it sounded like a car alarm so i shrugged it off. Fast forward to a few months ago when i was looking up American warning broadcasts for ideas for the omnic Crisis story, I came across videos of the SCDF siren and I clued in. I felt dumb. 
> 
> The exact video I came across when i realized it was a Civil Defense siren and not a Car alarm:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H53vFHK_dWs
> 
> You can hear it better in the sample for this song. This guy's amazing and I also spent some time listening to it when i was writing the beginning of the Omnic crisis.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1RUuTaBQSw  
> Anyone who's heard the SCDF siren, feel free to have a chuckle at my expense. I know I still am.  
> 


	3. Chapter 3- Spectral Savior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the birth of the Lion Defender Mechs, Lee seeks out an activity yo make him feel like hes doing something to help out. Little does he know that it sets hi on the path to bing something more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was half asleep when i wrote the rest of this. Insomnia is a right prick.

It hadn’t taken long for Liao and Lan to almost completely take over one of the labs in Singapore Polytechnic. Luckily their teacher had also survived the onset and had agreed to supervise them as they worked. Out of all their classmates, they were the only two wishing to continue their studies despite the situation.

In the end they had agreed to build two mechs to match the Lion statues, a female and male. They were built around the idea of support in combat situations and even search and rescue, like drones. The teacher had loved the idea and after some thought Liao has convinced Programing and AI studies students into the mix to help program an acceptable level of intelligence into the Lions, code named LD-1 and LD-2.

The inner working of the drones was completed in about three weeks with Lan helping Liao do all the heavy lifting. Several ideas had to be scrapped due to limitations and supplies, but for the most part the lions were well onto their way of being operational.

It was after the first month of the crisis that Liao finally got some good news about his mother. She had finally been released from the hospital, but she would never see the front lines and likely would have to retire from her position. Liao was confused but waited to hear his mother’s side.

It was after his second bag of chips and monitoring the progress of the metal plating for the outer casing of the lions when she had finally showed up. He had his back turned to the door, watching the machine carefully cut out the plating for the small drones. Assembling the Lions outer plating would take time, but it wouldn’t take that long.

“Lee?” Liao’s head snapped up. His goggles slipping down his forehead a bit as he spun around, as did everyone else in the lab. Sitting in a wheelchair in the doorway to the lab sat Daiyu smiling warmly to her son, wheeling herself forward. As she came closer, Liao noticed the mostly empty right pant leg, pinned up to the rest of her pants. Now he understood.

“Mom? What happened?” he whispered as she joined him at the window.

“It had gotten infected. By the time they caught it, it had begun to spread, so, they had to amputate it.” Daiyu held her son’s hand in her own. “They didn’t think I’d make it, but I did. Now what about you? What are you up to? The staff here tells me you’re working on a project.”

Liao nodded and launched into his explanation about what had happened a month earlier, showing her the photo on his phone to give her a better idea. He felt nervous as his mother mulled over before handing his phone back, a smile crossing her features.

“Ah. See, I always told you that the Lions watched over you.” Daiyu hummed. “Lion-Defender Units. Interesting name.”

Liao shrugged. “Thanks. I just wish that this crisis hadn’t been the cause of these.”

“I agree. We’ve both lost so many friends, as well as family. Nothing from your father or Uncle yet?”

“Nothing.” Liao looked down to his mother. “I’m getting worried.”

“So am I.” Daiyu sighed. “The military is making progress but it’s slow, and we’re paying the price.”

“How bad?” Liao asked voice sinking low.

“Bad enough. All reservists are active. Those in basic are getting field training by protecting what secure sectors we have. Now there’s talk of them dropping the minimum enlistment age to 16 years, even issuing a draft if need be.”

Liao chewed the inside of his cheek. For once he was glad he wasn’t older… but at the same time it would be selfish not to try to do something. “They say that Rations may be put into effect.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me. Our airfields are shut down and there’s trouble out in the sea. We’re in trouble.” She looked up to her son. “Have faith, we’re strong. We can come back from this.”

“But at what cost?” Lan asked joining them at the window. “Lee, Prof Chan has been speaking to some of the top Brass. They’re interested in the idea of the Lion Defenders.”

“You’re joking.”

“Un-manned drones in urban warfare, tactical and strategic uses that would apply during and post Crisis? They’re liking the idea.” Lan shrugged. “If they take the bait hook line and sinker, they’ll make sure to hold off any drafts for as long as they can and supply us with food, medical and any production supplies.”

“Investing in youth who could win them the war. Not a bad idea.” Liao hummed. “But will Prof agree?”

“I hope he does.” Daiyu nodded. “Any bit helps.”

“Hey Liao!” a programming student called over. “I think there’s something up with the Defender AI.”

“Don’t tell me it’s going to turn on us too.” Liao groaned turning away to investigate.

“No, both programs are communicating with each other.” The student motioned. “They’re developing similarly, but they’re getting what seems to be a personality.”

Liao raised an eyebrow. “Really? If it’s developing a personality, then let’s see what happens if we add some stimulus to the mix. Show it what’s been on the news.”

“You want to poke an AI with a metaphorical stick?” Another student asked.

“Just see what happens. If they’re communicating, I want to see how it reacts to stimulus. Show it to LD-1 first.” Liao nodded as the student uploaded the video into the mainframe. A few moments passed before the student snorted.

“It’s sharing the feed to LD-2. LD-1 seems opposed to the violence and carnage and is showing defensive behaviour. It’s frequency is rather calm.”

“And LD-2?” Lan asked, pulling up the feed on the monitor.

“Also seems appalled, but seems rather aggressive towards the footage. See the frequency?”

Liao whistled. “Have any other footage?”

“BMT training footage.” Lan nodded. “Show two different clips to LD-1 and LD-2. I want to see how they converse.”

The clips were also uploaded into the mainframe and instantly Liao noticed the activity. “Both are cataloguing their respective clips…. They’re learning.”

“Interesting, they’re also trying to plot other tactics, what may be more efficient…. Uh-oh.”

Liao stared at the communications between the two AIs and raised an eyebrow. “What are they doing?” Daiyu asked.

“Arguing it looks like…. Over tactics, like what would be the better plan. This is amazing, they’re not only learning and sharing information through their neural networks, but they’re developing and acting like people or humanoid omnics. They’re capable of interfacing and arguing while expanding their knowledge.”

“So they’re in a sense self-aware?” Liao asked looking up.

“Absolutely.” The programmer shrugged. “Rather interesting when you think about it.”

Liao thought for a moment. “Lan I want to tweak our design a bit. I want to give them optics.”

“What?” Lan turned to Liao. “Why not camera feeds from an operator?”

“What happens if the operator goes down? In addition, they could scout ahead and send their video feed back to an operator. They could also learn on the go and adapt strategy on the fly or be sent out to search for specific targets or items.”

“Good point. So give them literal eyes?”

“To an extent yes.” Liao agreed. “Keep feeding them stimuli. I want to see how they develop with more information before we try to “interface” with them.

“Hell we can try now.” Prof. Chan said walking into the room. “Here, use this headset, but plug it into the computer and let’s see what happens.”

“I feel sheepish.” Liao muttered taking the headset and plugging it in. “Add another input and output channel, and display on monitor 3. Let’s see how this goes.”

Daiyu laughed. “Treat it like an online interview or one of those games with voice chat.”

“Don’t remind me.” Liao groaned watching the monitor. The AIs were confused when they say another feed appear, waiting for input. “Uh Hello, can you two hear me?” There was nothing for a moment before LD-1 responded using text.

_LD-1: Human interface recognised using Voice communications. New method recognised and registered._

_LD-2: Human unknown, please identify yourself for records._

Liao’s eyes widened slightly in amazement. “That was fast. I’m know and Liao Lee, one of the co-creators of your hardware and one of the co-leads of this project.”

_LD-1 &LD-2: Registration completed. Registration of Operator Liao Lee confirmed. _

“Registration, confirmation? What the hell did you guys program into it?” Liao looked up at the programmers who looked just as shocked as he did.

“We had a user login set for testing purposes but….”

_LD-2: Your team is confused. While a log in process is required, to know our objectives and our outcomes unmanned or human-joint operations still require a degree of human interfacing. We need to know who has issued commands or in in charge of operations, thus your registration as our Operator._

“Our?”

_LD-1: Access to internet and research on your Lion Defender Project depicts that our chassis are being modeled after Chinese Lions. There are two of us and two of the Lions. Cultural significance indicates a pair rule, making the logical assumption that the two of us are meant to work together with a human counterpart, much like the lions in your culture._

Liao was floored. The AIs were aware of and accepting of human culture? That was a first.

“Allow me Lee.” Lan tapped his shoulder leaning in to speak into the headset’s mic. “You two seem to understand both Chinese culture as well as why you’ve been created yes? I have to ask, as the other co-leader and co-creator of this project, what are your views based on what you’ve seen thus far?”

The AI’s began to process the question, debating with one another before they sent their next message.

_LD-1: Human history had depicted much violence, war and bloodshed spanning generations. Disregard for life or safety is astounding and illogical, however in the face of this threat they have decided to come together within their own communities to take this threat head on._

LD-2: _This conflict is unacceptable. There is no justification of these machines taking such extreme measures, nor is there a reasoning for their destruction. We are appalled by the actions of the hostile omnics and wish to take steps to prevent this situation from going further, by any means necessary and within reason._

“Wait AI can have a preference?” Lan Looked to Liao, almost missing the next message.

_LD-2: Not quite in the sense that humans get. We get feedback based on various stimuli and the completion of various tasks. This feedback can be positive, negative or even neutral. Obviously, we would prefer or would like to obtain positive feedback much like humans._

_LD-1: Furthermore, it’s to our benefit to help humanity. Without humans, Omnics and mechs would have little or no purpose. Life without humans would be bleak and there’s no guarantee that life without humans would be any better than life with humans. From our standpoint, the only difference between an omnic and a human is their physical bodies._

“That’s an interesting viewpoint I’ve never considered.” Daiyu said resting next to her son. “How long has the team been working on their AI?”

“The team used a template they worked on from earlier on in the year. Specific work on this AI… took what a month if that?” Prof Chan asked looking around the lab.

“Yes, that’s correct.” The lead programmer responded.

_LD-1: For further reference, What may we call the other humans? We’d like to catalogue all voices and place them to names so that we may differentiate who’s speaking._

No one could argue there.

_________________________________________

Liao’s suggestions were taken into account as the project continued. Cameras were set up in the lab, allowing the AIs to “see” so they may be able to test vidcom software and other recognition software. The AIs had been shocked at Liao’s young appearance at first, but otherwise saw no issue with working with him. As Liao spent the most time in the lab, the AIs learned from him and felt free to ask any questions. AI was more than mere query charts and preprogramed responses depending on the input.

The most amusing bit to Liao was their attitude. LD-1 was rather calm, logical and curious. It had more heartfelt and lighthearted banter and felt much like talking to an old friend. LD-2 on the other hand was warm and caring towards Liao, seeming to act in a motherly fashion. Overall it seemed a bit faster to aggravate, was a bit sarcastic and snarky and rash.

Both AIs seemed mischievous however. It was to the point that Liao was beginning to wonder if his sense of humor was rubbing off onto the Lions. He really needed to stop spending his late night hours in the lab…. Or what everyone thought was extremely late night hours.

“I’m going to do a trial upload with you two in the morning so you guys can test out the mech bodies, you know, get a feel for them. LD-1, you’ll be uploaded into the male body. LD-2, you’ll take the female body.” Liao explained leaning back in his chair, spinning an empty coke bottle on the tabletop.  “They’re just about ready for the full on trial stage.”

_LD-1: If you don’t mind, we’d prefer to continue to work with you. You’re easy to work with and as our co-creator, it puts us as ease to see you safe._

“Not up to me, but I echo the sentiment. It would be fun to have someone I could talk to or work with. Which reminds me, I need to find a better way to communicate with you two in the field.” Liao stopped spinning the bottle for a moment. “Maybe post production. If I get to keep you two, I could add some personal customizations.”

_LD-2: Are you going to continue to spin that bottle all night instead of doing something productive?_

“And talking to you isn’t productive? I thought you’d learn and grow.”

_LD-1: maybe you’d actually grow if you got some actual sleep._

“It’s not that late.” Liao protested with a smirk. “Besides, I’m waiting for a friend.”

_LD-2: Would that friend be Lan?_

“Shut up.”

_LD-1: Can’t you tell us?_

“Can not.” Liao said getting up. “Well good night you two.”

_LD-2: hey, wait a minute!_

Liao slid out of the room and scooted down the hall, turning off his headset as he went. Himself, Wang, Lei and Yao were preparing to make a dangerous yet what they felt to be necessary late night excursion. They were planning to sneak out of the safe zone and into the hot zone to gather supplies. It was risky, and while they had never done it in the dead of night before, the risk of dwindling supplies outweighed the risk of scavenging.

Certain people didn’t ask where the supplies had come from, others knew but didn’t say a thing. Medical professionals always eyed them but accepted the supplies. Medical supplies were in high demand, as well as food. Tech was another growing commodity, especially for his project. Liao didn’t mind though.

Securing his goggles over his glasses he snuck down the halls and headed to the meeting point. Looking over his shoulder several times he swore he was being followed. Shrugging, he continued along the perimeter of the safe zone, finally seeing his friends leaning against the wall of a building. “We ready or what?”

“Ready when you are.” Wang nodded, nodding to a small beaten path. “We follow this and we should be able to get into the hot zone easy.”

“What about Patrols?” Yao asked as they started down the path.

“No one watches this path” Lei shrugged. Liao hmmed.

“Are we sure? We can in a lot of trouble.”

“Liao, they can’t stop everyone really. Besides, if you die out here, it’s your own damn fault sorta thing.” Wang reminded him.

“Yeah fair enough I suppose.” Liao agreed, looking over his shoulder again. “So shall we go?”

The boys nodded, following the path through the dark. “So anything we need?”

“Anything medical. Bottled water or food is good too. Non perishables.” Lei hissed. “Basically the usual.”

“So that’s where the supplies have been coming from. I figured it had to be you shits.”

The boys jumped, seeing Lan sitting on top of a destroyed Bastion’s shoulders. She raised an eyebrow at them. “Really guys? You’re playing a dangerous game.”

“We’re trying to help people out.” Lei hissed. “Say out of this Lan.”

“As your sister, I have to step in and tell you what you’re doing is wrong. Liao you should know better. Your mother would kill me if anything happened to you.”

Liao groaned. “Lan please, let us do at least this. People need hope, something to keep them going. We want to try to provide what we can until we can’t help period.”

Lan bit the inside of hr cheek as she thought before finally responding. “I’m coming with you. Someone needs to keep you all from getting yourselves killed.”

The boys swore but continued on with the older woman. There wasn’t very many places left to raid and they knew it. There was a small medical clinic nearby they hadn’t raided yet, but the question was if they could break into it. It was going to be noisy.

“Should we split up? Look for food and medical supplies?” Liao asked.

“Sure let’s split up. Lan and Lei go together.” Wang began.

“Why me!?” Lei cried, pitching a fit.

“Stop your whining.” Wang chuckled.

“Excuse you Wang. I don't whine, I bitch!” Lei turned on him as Liao pulled a crowbar out of his bag.

“Really? Spot the freakin difference.” Liao rolled his eyes taking a few test swings.

“We’d be uneven.” Yao shook his head. “Safety in numbers. Especially if something happens.”

“Right. Ready?”

The teens nodded, backing away as Lee swung hard, smashing the glass in one shot. Knocking out the bigger chunks, he slowly slipped inside, brushing the glass away so they wouldn’t slice themselves. “Clear.”

“Right… looks kind of like someone went through this place already.” Wang nodded as he looked through the cupboards. “Smells awful though.”

“Check the other offices or supply closets.” Yao suggested as the quietly slipped out of the room gagging. As they snuck down the hall, they saw signs of carnage, blood splattered against once pristine walls, like a macabre painting. Bullet holes riddled the walls, shredded filing cabinets, breaking the plaster of the structure.

Behind a desk they found someone, someone who had attempted to patch themselves up in a last ditch effort to survive. Liao sidestepped, clamping his hand over his mouth as he tried to avoid the puddle of sick from his friends. “Dear god.”

“Are we ever going to win this?” Lei asked as Lee exhaled as he tried to calm his stomach.

“The Omnics turned our best weapon against us, our military might. They’re playing both the smart and the long game.” Lee explained. “They want to overpower us, corner us then finish us.”

“The cornered rat will bit the cat.” Lan sighed, pulling the edge of the supply bag from the man on the floor. “We’ll get through this somehow.”

“We probably shouldn’t be here.” Wang whined. “Can we go?”

In the end, they managed to look a fair amount of contraceptives, a small stack of strong painkillers, many bags of cotton swabs and a fair chunk of Bandages. Food ended much of the same way, with them stealing more than their fair share of canned foods, bottled water and dried foods.

Batteries were fairly easy to come by, as were the stationary items. But technology was harder to come by.

Some of the streets were lit, while others flickered n and out. Many others were darkened considerably.  The unfortunate part of this was that as much as there were tech stores that exited onto the street, many were located within malls.

Malls which were active Bastion nests.

Getting in wasn’t much of an issue, but once inside, one had to avoid patrols and seek out directories. The devices themselves weren’t the items in demand, but rather the repair tools, device protection, and charging devices for the phones and technology. Looking over the railing, the teens grumbled quietly.

“There’s one right there, but that Bastion keeps making passes over it.” Lei hissed. “There’s other stores in the lower levels but the power’s out down there.”

“We still don’t know if they have infrared.” Wang hummed, watching the Omnic.

“That’s an E-54 unit.” Liao pointed out. “Mom and some of the other soldiers said that they don’t have infrared or night vision.”

“So we may have luck in the lower levels.” Lan sighed a sigh of relief.

“Not quite. Apparently the Omnics are finding ways around that. Solders are reporting worldwide that they’re been seeing an odd type of omnic stalking in the dark, but it never gets too close. No one can get their hands on it.” Lee shook his head. “Anyway, keep an eye on the Bastion.”

“No.”

“C’ya.” Lee darted off before anyone could stop him. Luckily for him, the escalators had stopped working allowing him to sneak down, hiding behind a pillar as he got to the bottom. The floor was somewhat dark, only a few lights flickering in the stores. Sneaking along the edges, Lee kept looking up overhead to his friends. They waved him on, stopping him before he came to a vending machine. He heard the Bastion’s footsteps coming and he pressed himself against the side of the vending machine. He near held his breath as the Bastion came into view, slowly continuing on its way. Waiting for it to pass, Lee slipped around the vending machine and ducked into the next shop, hiding behind a display.

Too close.

He paused, seeing a hole in the wall leading to the tech shop. Finally! Lawing low, he used the displays as cover, holding position when he hear the bastion returning. He froze and checked his watch.

1:39 am.

They had to get what they came for and leave soon. It took at least a half hour or so to trek back to the gap in the border, and the guard changed around 2:45-3am. After that it would be much harder to slip past as more dogs would be out followed by the snipers a 4am onwards.

Fuck. They were running out of time.

Staying as low as he could he crawled to the wall, pressing himself against it, peeking around the corner of the wall, watching the Bastion’s retreating back. Taking a breath, he threw himself around the corner and under a display table. His little stunt was visible from the railing two floors up, his friends cringing in fear and muttering curses at the boy’s risk.

Sneaking around the back of the table he slipped out, slipping behind solid cover moments before the Bastion retraced its steps once again. Lee sighed and waited for the steps to recede before popping his head out. Remembering his mission, he grabbed chargers, cables, screen protectors, anything he thought would help. Stuffing them in his bag, he was about to leave when he heard something smash behind him.

His blood ran cold. Looking over his shoulder he saw that his bag had hooked on a coffee mug that had laid on the counter, both its contents and the now shattered mug laying on the floor.

_Game over man, game over._

Li dove for the table, pulling himself under it again as the Bastion’s feet thundered towards him. Holding his breath, he slowly pulled away from the edge of the table as the Bastion entered the store through the wall.

_Fuck fuck fuck._

The Bastion slowly tread through the store, looking around for the source of the noise. Biting his lip, he reached into his bag and pulled out another phone. This one was one that he had nicked during one of their runs. The screen was cracked, the volume broken and stuck on max, and it no longer connected to any networks. H was going to disassemble it, but he thought it was better used as a distraction.

Setting a timer to go off in three minutes, he peeked out from under the display table to see the Bastion standing still. He took a breath and tried to slide the phone as far away as possible, rolling his eyes when the phone slid and came to a stop under another table.

Figures.

Turning around, he prepared to climb out from under the table. He was lucky as he hadn’t heard the Bastion’s upper half rotate yet, but he was sure it was close. Or maybe it had and he just hadn’t heard it. He looked around as he slid the upper half of his body out, bracing himself as soon as he heard the omnic turn back towards the wall.  That was it.

His life was saved by the loud beeping of the phone. He heard the Bastion tense, and head towards it. Taking a breath, Lee pulled himself out and dashed for the wall, making it through and disappearing back into the main walkway before The Bastion even heard him.

If the Bastion had heard the mug smash, then certainly the others would have heard the phone go off. Looking up he say his friends gritting their teeth and waving their hands at their necks. Ducking low, he kept going, trying to keep his sneakers from squealing on the floor as he cut a corner.

He had barely made it up the first few stairs when he heard it. A low moan and a slight whirr to his right made him look up. In one of the darkened stores was an odd thing staring at him. It seemed a little taller than the average, with two White-orange unblinking eyes staring at him. It’s head slowly tilted as a faint gleam came from where he supposed its mouth was. Lee felt his body begin to sweat, something gleaming in place of a mouth as it chuckled at him.

He ran. He didn’t know what kind of thing that was, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to stick around to find out. Darting back up the stairs he pointed for the door. “Let’s go now.”

“About time!”

They were nearly out of the door before Wang tripped in the food court, knocking over a few chairs with a loud noise. The teens cringed. “You spanner!” Lei half yelled half whispered as the Bastions below them began to sound the alarm. The group dashed out of the door and ran for the border before the Bastions could locate them. Looking over his shoulder Lee saw the odd figure following them at a distance, stopping before the door, just watching them.

“The fuck is that thing?” Yao yelled, pointing at it.

“I saw it on my way up the stairs, it can laugh and shit. Just keep running!!” Lee cried vaulting over a guard rail. “Parkour!”

Lee had always loved parkour. He loved the jumping, the running, the demand it put on his body. Balance, strength, speed, flexibility. He lived for it. He supposed it was because of that that he had fallen in love with the raver style culture, living for the beat of the music, the expression he made with his body as me moved with the beat. He could do an impressive Melbourne shuffle, so when Lan had introduced him to Parkour, he took to it like a fish took to water.

In the omnic crisis, it was proving useful.

They used it to scale walls, to get in and out of places they never expected to reach. With Lee’s speed, he cleared gaps that would stop others, he could make impressive jumps and vaults. He rarely made a jump or climb to show off. It was all about keeping his feet under him.

With his speed and their Parkour skills, they made it back to the border just before the guard changed. Sneaking back through the safe streets, they went their own separate ways to catch some sleep before the sun rose.

_____________________________________________________________

“Look alive Lee, or your mom’s going to kill me.” Lan nudged the younger boy awake as she handed him a tray of food. “I take it they know?”

LD1: Not the entire events of what transpired, but we are aware that he returned rather late and began the upload.

LD2: Try not to keep him awake so late next time Lan. We knew that you would be involved.

“Oh shut up!” Lee groaned into his headset. “I can hear you two pinging me.”

“Have I ever told you that I find your crush on me, cute?” Lan teased. “Pity, if you were my age I’d date you.”

“Urrrgh.” Lee groaned lifting his head off his now nearly empty backpack.. “Stop reminding me.”

“You need to stop sleeping in the lab Lee. It’s not good for your back.” Daiyu chuckled as she wheeled herself into the lab. “And you need more sleep. You’re at a stage in life where you should be getting more sleep. It’s important.”

“You’re the only mother I know who still says ‘Get to bed’ to her teenage son, usually it’s ‘Get out of bed’.” Lan smirked. “And here I am still hoping Lei takes the hint when it’s his turn to do the dishes.”

“I think that’s a guy thing dear.” Daiyu smirked. “Along with not listening.”

“I listen!” Lee whined, taking a bit of his toast.

“Of course you do, that’s why you snuck out into the hot zone last night.”

Lee groaned. “Laaaaaannn…”

“It wasn’t me, I swear!” Lan put her hands up defensively.

“I’m not stupid Lee.” Daiyu crossed her arms. “I couldn’t sleep last night because of my leg, so I came to find you so we could talk, but your AIs here said that you had been waiting for a friend and you left.”

Lee looked down and sighed. “When those kids showed up saying a boy who moved like a ghost became their saviour I was confused until your friends started calling you ‘Spectral Savior’. You’re supposed to graduate this week and you’re out risking your life why?”

“Because I want to help!” Lee raised his voice. “Our Project could lead to something, it may not. I want to do something other than sit around being useless. I’m too young to work, too young to serve and too young to be of any help! I want to help out in any way I can mom! Please.”

Daiyu sighed. “Lee, when I joined law enforcement, I though the same. I wanted to help, I wanted to keep others safe. I thought that I owed it to others, and when you were born it strengthened my beliefs at first. But I realized as I watched you grow I realized that other things meant more to me than all the sacrifices I was willing to make. I turned down several positions so I could have time to be with you, so you’d have at least me in your life.”

“You gave up those positions because of me?” Lee looked up at his mother, not noticing that Lan was checking on the AI’s progress.

“Yes. With your father traveling so much, I didn’t want to accept a position where you would be left alone for long periods of time. I knew that in your father’s absence you needed your mother more than ever. I had to teach you how to take care of yourself. My duty as an officer was important, buy my duty as a parent, to you was more important.”

Daiyu held her son’s hand. “I understand that you feel so out of place right now because of your intellect, and I applaud your drive to help others, but please, give yourself more time to grow. One day when you’re older, you’ll understand my words, especially when you have your own children.”

“Your mom’s right.” Lan smirked. “I want to help out too, but I have to look after Lei. I mean if I don’t who will?”

“I guess you have a point.” Lee nodded. “I don’t mean to worry you but there much be something I can do, right?”

“Focus on graduating and working on these mechs.” Daiyu chuckled. “And eat your breakfast, your collogues will be in here soon.”

“Ok ok.”

“You too Lan.”

“Alright.”

 

“They seem to be handling the chassis just fine.” Prof Chan Observed. “The movement is fluid and is rather advanced then what I had asked for you. Well done.”

“It was a group effort. We believe that the addition of AI in the mechs only serves to improve the effectiveness of the hardware.” Lee shrugged.

“Still, to take a school project and adapt it to potentially used in a practical and current situation is not only bold, but selfless.” Prof Tam said looking over the Ai’s patterns and coding. Rei ignored Daiyu elbowing her son. A round of applause for both classes on this project. I’d say that my programmers pass.”

“Lan and Lee are my only students who continued their education in the face of this disaster.” Prof Chan smiled. “The pass as well. Congratulations!”

“Thank you cher, but really it was a group effort.” Lan smiled back. “Oh Lee, did you want to do that other test with them?”

“Yeah, if I could.” Lee nodded. “Oi, Jiù zhǔ, Yōulíng, come on, we’ve got one more test to run, you ready?”

The two lions exchanged a look, leaping down off the table and stretching themselves as the team double and triple checked that camera feeds were working and that they could monitor the AI. “Alright, you two have connected to my phone, which is also connected to my headset. Your internal mics should work too so I’ll test for that. Think you can keep up?”

The silver lions –no taller than a Miniature Schnauzer- opened their mouths in a roar. Lee smirked and slipped his goggles down over his glasses and started out on a brief jog down the hall, hearing the silicon and rubber pads of the Lion’s feet cushion the sound of their paws hitting the floor. Noticing them keep up, Lee broke into a run, cutting corners and leading them down the ramp to the ground floor.

The Lions chased after him, slowly pushing themselves to the limit, to keep up as Lee vaulted over railings and slid around people with ease, shooting out the front doors as he continued. Hr whooped loudly as the lions internal mechanisms began to really work themselves, matching pace with the boy. Suddenly without warning they darted between his legs at the right moment, surprising the boy and the team back in the class.  He took it as a challenge and began to slip back into his more parkour habits. The mechs adapted, calculating what they’d need to do to keep pace as he leapt, flipped and hopped over things.

He ran all the way to MRT station before he stopped, breaking a light sweat as he paused. “Damn you two are good! I never thought you guys could do half that stuff.”

The lions turned to one another, rearing onto their hind legs and pawing at each other in play. “I guess we call that a success?”

“I’d say. Some calls are being made now, you may want to get back here.” Tam said excitedly. “What are your plans now?”

“I was thinking about Bio engineering.” Liao pondered. “What if you could control these guys or even have them read your vitals with implants?”

“One thing at a time kiddo. First thing’s first, get back here so we can celebrate. We’ve earned it.” Lan cheered.

Casting one final look at the lions Lee nodded. “Race you two back.”

________________________________________________________

The celebration that night was beyond what Lee could ever imagine. While they didn’t have the space or resources for a proper graduation ceremony, it was decided that it had to be celebrated in a proper collage fashion, that is to say with a huge fucking party.

Several people had come together to cook a meal for the graduates, while music pounded from the speakers someone had managed to scrounge up. Graduates and their families joined in the celebration, with the younger generations enjoying the music and dancing moreso than the older generations.

However some of the older generations had begun to join in when someone grabbed the Aux cord and began to play hardstyle music. Even older professors began to dance, showing the youngers who had created and even shaped the dances they all knew and loved. However one song came on, one that Lee knew far too well, just by the pounding bass. It was a song that would bring people out to shuffle in  mobs.

Dj Ephixia’s Welcome to Twilight.

Sliding into the nearest free place on the dancefloor, Lee began to fall into the rhythm of the bass as the crowd began to cheer. These were his friends, people who knew he could preform. They let him lead waiting to hear the beginning of the pounding bass.

_Welcome to Twilight._

Then the bass hit. Hard.

It almost seemed like he was dancing in place at first before be seemed to glide around effortlessly with almost untrackable footwork. The crowd began to cheer as he showed off. A moment later more bass joined in, and with it Lan. She fell in seamlessly, mirroring his moves moving from side to side with practices ease, gently spinning in place as they seemed to slide while walking in place.

The next drop saw Yao, Wang Lei and a few other friends join in just as seamlessly. The crowd was clapping and cheering, some bobbing their heads with the beat. Even the Lions were bobbing their heads next to Daiyu’s wheelchair. As the next buildup began, the steps slowed, switching halfway through to slow backpedals to show the slow footwork and how they moved.

As the Bass dropped again, Lee looked over to Lan, taking in how she moved. Her hips had nice movement, ach stomp of her foot making her breasts bounce just right. Her posture was relaxed, as she gave way to the music her eyes half lidded as she danced. He felt himself turn red. She was beautiful.

The next build up started out slow, allowing them a break. Human and Omnic alike had joined the group and had begun to dance as the bass ramped up further. Lee gave himself into the music completely, his posture easing significantly, his body going by pure muscle memory. In his mind nothing mattered but the music.

In his mind he imagined Lan’s words being true. He imagined himself, older, taller and handsome, dancing with a woman with long brown hair and brown eyes, matching his every move. He felt a primal urge in his chest, a primal desire, a desire to join her…

But how?

As the song ended the crowd dispersed into their own cliques again. Lan looked over to Lee and smiled, her eyes brightening when he returned the look. They ignored Lei’s shout of “That’s my sister! Last Warning!” It wasn’t anything, he was too young for her. But they would have that moment.

Before the evening erupted in gunfire.

Everyone froze turning to look away from the school towards the drive. There was loud panic and screaming as the soldier’s turned to face an intruding force of Bastions and OR 13s. Someone screamed and everyone headed for the school, several of them being cut down before they reached the doors. Lee tried to run, but fell with a yell as someone behind him collapsed on top of him. The doors closed with a slam as the soldiers backed towards the school against the advance of the omnics.  

Looking around, Lee saw the gun of a fallen soldier not far from him, the omnic force was too busy turned to their left that they wouldn’t see Lee. Pushing the body off him he bolted, scooping the rifle up on his way. The Bastions responded, trying to fire on him as he captured their attention.  Poking around the front of the car’s front bumper, he took aim down the sights. This was just like a video game he mused, only you don’t respawn when you die.

Looking over the crowd, he noticed a scarred Bastion observing the carnage, part of it’s head casing seemingly pulled apart. He recognised that omnic, having been chased by it several times in the past. It was sadistic, if a bastion could even be sadistic.

Taking aim he fired at it’s neck, grunting when he instead drew it’s fire. It served only to annoy the omnic. He was about to fire again when he heard someone running behind him and dragging him away, cursing loudly in Mandarin.

“/You idiot boy, are you trying to get yourself fucking killed?/”

That voice…..

“Dad?” Lee grunted as he looked up, seeing the disheveled business man throwing Lee behind another car. Wang, Yao and Daiyu were hidden behind a Military truck, protected by soldiers. Lei, Lan and his father Ray were hiding behind the cover of the car. “Dad, where were you? You were gone for months.”

The mainlander looked at his son, his dark eyes looking fearful as he spoke in thickly accented English. “I wasn’t going to let you aunt, Uncle or cousin behind. Now get to your mother, quick.”

“I’ll go first.” Lan nodded, making a mad break for cover. Halfway there there was a loud crack as Lan pitched sideways in a spray of crimson.

“LAN!!!”

In almost slow motion, Lan landed face down on the ground, holding her middle as she tried to weakly move towards her destination. Lee felt numb as the world silenced in a haze of static. He didn’t need to see the wound to know that that was a bad hit. Beside him he felt Lei move, pointing at the Omnic with the damaged head.

“YOU FUCKING BASTARD!”  Lei cried, running towards the Bastion, dodging it’s storm of Bullets as he dove around the back end of a car, grabbing a gun. “I’LL KILL YOU!!”

“Lei what are you doing!?” Wang cried. “You’re going to get yourself killed!”

Something inside of Le changed in that moment, his fist curling as he watched his friend take pot shots at the Bastion who’s shots missed and set another car on fire. Shouldering his own gun, he ran across the grass, grabbing Lan and pulling her to safety as his father followed.

“Lan, hold on!” He cried, watching his mother try to help Lan lay on her back. Lan’s front was utterly shredded, her blue scarf somehow escaping the blood spray. Choking, she took it off and put it around Lee’s neck.

“Take it. I need you to look after Lei. Fuck I must be the worst sister ever.”

“Deep breaths, come on Lan.” Daiyu pleaded.

“Lee.” Lan grabbed his face in her hands, pressing their foreheads together. “I’m sorry this happened. Promise me you won’t get hung up over me, ok?”

Lee nodded his mind torn between crying and running to exact revenge. He paused when Lan kissed his forehead. Looking down he felt confusion as Lan chuckled weakly. “Don’t worry, we’ll meet again someday, and it will be like we were never apart. Be careful ok?”

“I’m sorry…” Lee muttered holding her close as she faded, tears welling up in his eyes. A loud yell and the crack of a gun brought him back to reality. Turning his head he saw the omnic. In that moment, he realized that his anger was justified. This was Justice, vengeance, even retribution. Something deep inside of him raised its head and roared. And he responded.

With a roar of his own, he threw himself into the line of fire and charged. The omnic turned too late, the first few short hitting him in the head. With a lucky shot, Lee fired, the shot shattering the Omnic’s optic, sending the omnic reeling as he was disoriented. With a bellow, the Bastion fired at the car Lee had thrown himself behind Lei rolled to join him. A sudden crack split the air as the Omnic’s main weapon gam unbolted. Looking back, Lee saw that Wang had grabbed a sniper rifle from an injured soldier and was now aiming down the sights.

Yao was taking pot-shots from his position with Lan and Lee’s parents with the a SAR rifle he had picked up. Anger in his eyes he yelled loudly. “Fuck him up!”

Lee turned to the Omnic and moved up behind cover, aiming at the omnic head as the omnic advanced. Popping up over the trunk, he began firing as much as he could at the omnic. The gun held true until he ran out of ammo. With a yell he tossed the gun at the omnic and climbed the car, leaping from car to car to reach the omnic. The bastion tilted its head in a sadistically cute manner, chirring as it watched.

Leaping off the roof of one car Lee let out a deep cry, leaping over a blazing fie to get to the omnic. The machine was taken aback, trying to punch and grab thee boy scooted around him. The omnic growled. Humans were rarely this fast.

With ease, Lee scaled the omnic’s back and held onto it’s head for dear life, grabbing the bent plating of the omnics head as he struggled to get a good grip. With a growl he dug his nails in and pulled as hard as he could, trying to tear the plating away. The Bastion began to swing itself wildly trying to shake him off as the boy clung for dear life. His hands seared as he lost grip with one side, instead trying to grab onto the right plate for dear life. The sharp metal dug into his palm as he pulled, feeling the plating shift and move with him, but a moment too late.

The Bastion, furious with the human trying to pull it apart, grabbed Lee by the shoulder, trying to crush it. Lee cried out, hands staining the orange plating red as h tried to pull away. Reaching into the waistband of his pants he pulled out his mother’s sidearm and wedged the barrel into the crack and pulled the trigger.

The effect was instant, the Omnic swayed, it’s grip releasing Lee as it fell to the ground.  Lee rolled away to avoid being crushed, pouncing on the omnic a moment later, intent on pilling out the tech in it’s head. Blinded by rage the pulled off the plating and fell into a haze.

He awoke the next day in a classroom that had been turned into a makeshift clinic. His hands bandaged, stained red by his own blood from the deep gashes in his palms and from tearing off his own Nils while trying to pull off the side panel of the Bastion’s head. The area was secured again and families were once again cleaning up. Looking over to the makeshift bed next to him, he noticed the sheet pulled over the occupant. Slowly he got up and pulled he sheet back, his worst fears realized. He bolted from the room, biting back tears as he ran.

He didn’t realize he was in the lab again until the lights flicked on. Looking around he saw his mechs approach him, coming to rest on two pads near the computer.  He looked to the screen and sighed.

_LD-1 Jiù zhǔ: Operator Liao, are you alright?_

“No, no I’m not.” He admitted, sitting down.

_LD-2_ _Yōulíng: you were delirious last night after attacking the E-54 Omnic unit. You and Lan were also injured. How are you doing today?_

Lee’s voice cracked as sobs wracked his body. “She’s dead…… it’s all my fault. If I didn’t run, she’s be ok, she’s be alive….”

_LD-1 Jiù zhǔ: it’s not your fault. We were powerless to stop it. You can’t predict the future, nor did anyone expect a security breach such as that. You did what you had to, you fought back to defend everyone else._

“It was out of rage and anguish!” Lee cried slamming his fight down on the table and crying out. “If I hadn’t grabbed that stupid gun, had I not tried to be a hero she would be alive!”

_LD-2 Yōulíng: You also wouldn’t have saved the lives of your friends and family, you also might have died. A machine may say that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, but as out co-creator, we also feel a great sorrow in our cores. What happened was an accident, and you should not have had to answer the call to arms, but the fact that you did regardless of your reason, stands to show the moral fiber of your being._

_LD-1 Jiù zhǔ: if we’re to grieve, then let us grieve together. You will not have to face this alone Lee._

Without warning, both Mechs sprang up, resting their paws on his shoulders for support, nuzzling his face with theirs. He finally let go, his sobs echoing in the empty lab.

____________________________________________________________

A bolt of lightning jolted the man out of his trip down memory lane. Against his chest the woman shifted, pulling his arms closer around her as she sat between his legs. “You alright Lee?”

Lee looked down at Mei and nodded. Looking over, he noticed the mournful look on the faces of both Jiù zhǔ, and Yōulíng. They mad a loud mournful moan, as Lee sighed. “Yeah, just… it’s hard to talk about.”

“We can stop if you want.”

“No, I’ve been holding onto this for far too long.” Lee nuzzled the top of her head. “So the next three years were pretty much uneventful as I was In school, but it was two days after my sixteenth Birthday when it finally happened, and I began to learn the biggest lessons of my life…”


	4. Loss of Innocence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joining the military whether by choice, a sense of duty or otherwise, is never as easy as it seems. Joining at young age is also a lesson in sacrifice, not only of freedoms, opportunities and bonds, but also of innocence. Lee must learn first hand the horrors of war and must prove that he has what it takes so complete his mission. W
> 
> Warning: chapter deals with a character seeing death, and preforming self surgery. If you don't like that, look away now or wait for the next chapter which i HOPE to be up in a few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive!
> 
> Between writing an AU with Ecc0, other fanfics, summer job problems (couldn't find one) art and Ark survival evolved, I admit, I let my stories slide. I finially got a kick in the butt from some friends however and i got what i needed to update this. 
> 
>  
> 
> Also you'll notice that this has some parallels to the Lost Lions AU (the one with Eccocraft's Liao), because i started writing this chapter before i even worked on that AU.

There comes a time in everyone’s life when realization hits them, like a switch being flipped in their brain. The big “ah-ha” moment when things finally begin to make sense, sending you on a path of self-discovery as you find your place in life. For some, it happens sooner or later than others.

For Lee, it hit him the day he turned 16.

The death of Lan had affected him in a way that no one could have seen. It was as if in that day he had lost a major part of his innocence. He had continued his studies, making it to the top of his class with his experiments, theories and proposed enhancements. As he finally began to transition from boy to man, He pushed himself further, to test the limits of his being. He began to practice Martial arts, mixing the various style his uncle had taught him with street fighting. He began to work out, attempting to prepare himself for the challenges that lay ahead.

To many, he was spending his time either working on his studies or himself. The death of his cousin Bo when he was fifteen drove him further. In secret, he began to experiment on himself with his implants, creating them to have not only the delicate medical functions they were designed for, but built to last in heavy combat situations. Barely anyone noticed the odd rice grain sized bumps under his skin. The procedure was extremely painful, but he was not alone. His Lions watched over him, learning the procedure, how to help him recover and how to keep people away when he was undergoing implantation.

The implants worked well with the Lions, in addition to the techpad he had created. The techpad was a device strapped to his left forearm to help give commands and track the lions in the field. He had even modified his goggles with a HUD interface, designed to support the recent additions to his kit. This had caught the attention of the Military once again, and with their permission, himself, Lei, Wang and Yao were permitted to make small runs for supplies and scouting missions into the hot zone while testing the capabilities and the limits of Lee’s designs.

Seeing an opportunity, Lee approached his uncle with a proposal. Together, they created a company called Guardian Technology Solutions, in English. With a bit of work Lee designed the mechs for both Civil defense and for domestic use. In addition, he left his designs for his implants, his drafts and even his theories with the company. Lacking the funding or resources, it became apparent that his technology would help both private, Public and even governmental sectors.

But to Lee, even with all of that, it still didn’t feel like he was doing enough to help out. His mother had noticed it and kept a close eye on her son’s health as he worked. Even after he had designed and fitted her with a prosthetic leg –which was admittedly well crafted and highly advanced considering the circumstances- he still looked lost. It was concerning to herself, Ray and even his uncle Huang.

What they didn’t know was that Lee had taken his aptitude test some two weeks before his 16th birthday and was awaiting the results.

The Crisis had claimed many lives of those who served on the front lines, so any fit sons and daughters of Singapore were eligible for enlistment. Even with voluntary enlistment, they still had to put out a draft. He remembered how his family had cried and made a fuss when his cousin was drafted. His aunt and uncle had even shown up at the compound to beg for his exemption, learning that money and status wouldn’t save him. Lee hadn’t been impressed. Eventually they had gotten news that Bo had perished. His aunt and uncle had been furious, but to Lee, it was par per the course. This was war, sacrifices had to be made.

When he had gotten his enlistment letter copied, he had been informed to tell his family to ignore the mandatory draft letter he had been sent in the mail. By the time it reached them, he’d be in basic training already.

But he wasn’t going to tell them. To Lee, he wanted to help his country. He wasn’t going to wait for the inevitable.

Under the Guise of celebrating his recent graduation, Lee made plans to stay out past midnight, so he could wait for his family to fall asleep before sneaking back into the flat. Sitting on the roof of a building, he listened to other youths brag about joining the fight, seeking glory and for their names to be written in history as defenders of their country. Lee broke their cheer, reminding them that glory should be their last concern. Instead he reminded them that they were barely adults, sacrificing their innocence and celebrating it stupidity.

He left shortly after to find a good vantage point. Casting his gaze over the silhouette of the city in the sunset, he sighed and began to savor his last hours of freedom. He was aware that he had just made the toughest choice in his young life, but he knew that he would have had to face it eventually. In that regard, he was glad that he was able to face it on his own terms.

As suspected, his parents were cuddled in the living room couch. His aunt and uncle were sleeping in one of the other rooms with his little cousin. There was one vacant room that now belonged solely to him now. Slipping inside, he grabbed a hidden bag with some of his belongings and slipped back out.

Ashe slipped back out of the room, he looked around again to make sure nothing had moved before pulling the letter out of his pocket and placing it on the dinner table. By the time anyone found it, he would be in basic training and there would be no going back.

Looking around as he slipped back out the door, he made sure no one was moving before he slipped into the night. He broke into a run with his lions heading to one of the meet up points that he and a few of his friends has set up. “Oi Wang! Yao! You made it.”

The boys looked up and waved. “Ready to get rid of that excuse you call a mop and become a soldier Lee?”

Lee sighed. “I’m not ready for the haircut, but let’s get it over with. I want to sleep.”

“Aww, but a few of us wanted to party a bit.” Wang shrugged.

“It’s better if we get a few things done and prepared for tomorrow, before we get rest. The better prepared and well rested we are, the better.” Lee pointed out. “I don’t want to catch heat for being sleepy or hungover.”

The boys shrugged and went on their way. Eventually they came to Lei’s flat where a few other boys had joined their troupe. The boys wanted to do their little rite, preparing for their service to save time and as not to catch heat by the brass. As expected the boys had gotten their hands of some alcohol, and while two abstained from the foul tasting liquid, Lee caved and had several mouthfuls before retiring to bed, awaiting the future that lay ahead of him.

 

Lee had been right, it had been the hardest decision of his life.

Hell Week had certainly been a special kind of hell. He and his friends separated into different platoons he felt alone. The bass knew of him and while he hadn’t expected to be treated better, he was instead made to look like an example. He was lucky that the Drill Sergeant had been kind enough to use his old nickname as his codename. It was better than “Two Ton”, “Jester” or “Water-Rat.”

BMT was supplemented with active border duty. Luckily most border patrols were un-eventful. Romulus Company was comprised mostly of youth with some older personnel. The elders taught their youngers smarter ways of thinking and preforming tasks. They passed on their insight and wisdom. Lee stayed close, absorbing their knowledge like a sponge.

He was almost 16 and ½  when his company was called upon.

Despite their level of training, they were being sent into Sector B-Alpha. Destination, OutRam and Kallang. Several squads had gone dark over the last two months and several more who had been sent to investigate had also gone dark. The Brass couldn’t tell if the loss in communications had been caused by the omnic interference or if the squads had indeed been wiped out.

Romulus Company had been in an uproar, for the Brass had practically sentenced them to death.

They traveled by foot for two days before they reached Outram. They would have to pass through the Downtown Core to get to Kallang. Under Major Sun’s command, the soldiers pressed on. They had just gotten to Pearl's Hill Terrace before the sound of gunfire reached them. Hitting the deck, the soldiers snapped into combat, Reaching into his bag, Lee pulled out several slim cylindrical objects, twisting the top clockwise, he tossed them from behind cover. “EMP FRAG!”

The resounding crackle sent his hair on end as to his left, Jester kept peeking over the edge of his cover. “FRAG OUT!”

Lee ducked, feeling the concussive blast more than he heard it. Looking right, he saw Water-Rat duck down to reload, her head snapping up as they all hear a cry. “Pushing up!”

“Are you fucking nuts!?” Two Ton roared. “You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“Water-Rat!” Lee looked up Seeing Water-Rat fall backwards, her front covered in blood. Lee felt his blood run cold, seeing the young woman missing half her face. No amount of medicine could save her now. He squad began to cry out around him, some falling to the ground dead, others struggling to grab their sidearm, determined to fight to their last breath. Lee turned to the mechs beside him, handing each a small pike. Grabbing a wire from his bag, he connected them with a 20 feet worth of cable and pointed.

“Get them within the radius then get out of there!” He cried, ducking out of cover to draw the Bastion’s attention away from his squad. These Bastions were easy to take out if you knew their weak points. The optics here hard to smash through, but if you could shoot it out, it was an easy kill.

“Sound off! Spectral Savior!”

“Sun-Steel!”

“Slowpoke!”

“Pandora!”

“Foxtrot!”

“Sea dollar- Arrgh!”

“FUCK!”

“MEDIC!”

So Major Sun, and three others were at his 10 o’clock. Peeking around he saw a good five Bastions closing in on them. This wasn’t good.

“Pandora!”

“Dozer!”

“Pyro-Panda!”

“High Voltage!”

“Pepper-cat here! I’m not going to last!”

10\. His squad had been reduced to 10, possibly 9 if Pepper-cat couldn’t hang in there. That meant that they already lost their medic. Lee swore, pulling on his claw caps. After tearing his nails off twice by attempting to tear open the casings of omnics, he had developed a sort of clawed finger cap to protect his fingertips. Buckling the strap over the palm of his hand he reloaded his gun and looked down as the screen on his forearm. The Lions were ready.

Reaching into his pouch, he grabbed the trigger device and roared. “GET DOWN!”

The Electro-magnetic field shot up, shocking the Bastions and slowing them as they struggled to move. Looking up the humans threw their grenades, weakening many bastions and destroying the rest. One grenade however destroyed one peg, freeing the now scrambled Bastions as they stumbled through smoke and debris. Several more shots rang out, as Lee ran for the nearest Bastion, tearing it’s head open and tearing out it internal components. Running out of ammo, he switched to his side arm, using the butt of his rifle to Melee the Bastions.

“Move!”

Lee rolled to the side as another EMP Grenade went off, followed closely by a frag grenade.  The force sent him into the front grill of a car, knocking the wind out of him. For a while he lay still, groaning as he tried to force himself up. There was silence, save for the crackling of flames and shorting electronics from the Bastions. Acrid smoke filled his longs as he coughed, hearing a figure shuffling towards him.  Looking up through the dirt on his goggles, he saw Major Sun, dropping to his knees, his breathing labored.

“Please tell me you’re still good Liao.”

Lee nodded. “I can continue sir… What about the others?”

“You’re the only one.” Sun turned, leaning back against the car. “Fuck I thought we’d get further than this.”

“We can sir… I mean there’s the two of us.” Lee said easing himself up onto his knees.

“No, just you LT.” Sun looked up at the younger man. “Listen, I need you to dig 17 holes. One for each fallen squad member. Leave a marker at the head of each grave so we know who’s who.”

“But sir, there’s only 16 fallen squad mates.” Lee insisted moving to kneel in front of his CO, finally noticing the crimson stain lacing up the man’s side. “No…. you’ve been hit.”

“Listen Lee.” The man wheezed, blood coating his lips. “I know this is too much to ask of you, but you must complete our mission or die trying. Take what you can of our gear and go after we’ve been buried. In addition, I hereby promote you to Captain and Squadron Leader.”

“Sir no one will believe me if I tell them I’m a Captain.” Lee knelt forward. “I… I’ll try my best to complete the mission but I don’t think I can.”

“Why did you join soldier!?”

Lee’s back straightened. “To help fight back against the omnics and to help defend Singapore sir!”

“Then do your damn job. No soldier has ever felt like they could take on something of this calibre, and those that thought they could were arrogant…. As for the chain of command…” sun let out a wet cough, crimson coating his lips as he held up a device. “Comes right from me. Now get those holes dug.”

Lee complied, grabbing the pick and digging, faintly aware of Sun propping himself up against the grill of a car to watch. Lee purposely dug each hole first before carrying the remains of his fallen squad members to their resting place. Doing them in batches, he left them next to their holes so he could strip their gear and mark their graves. It took him a while but by the time he finished the last hole, it had begun to grow dark. Getting up, he headed back towards the car. “Sir?”

No response.

Lee hefted a sigh and bent down, and picked hi superior up, carrying him to his final resting place and laying him down. Carefully, he worked on stripping any useful gear from his squad. Ammo, food and water was added to his bag along with Pepper-cat’s medical supplies.

Grabbing what he could salvage, he created a post at the head of each Grave, before tying each fallen member’s dog tags to their wrists before he lowered each body into the hole. He stood back and looked over the shallow holes as his body became numb. Raising his head to the heavens, he sighed.

“I’m not particularly religious but please, help them on their way and keep them safe.”

With that, he moved past the holes and continued on his way, cursing his now heavy pack. The lions next to him looked up. They understood what with his now near bursting pack, he couldn’t carry them on his backpack.  They would have to walk.

Making sure he had fresh clips in both his rifle and his sidearm, he set off, his gun locked and loaded. Everytime a roadway intersected another, he gave pause, aiming down the sights as he checked the road. Once satisfied he continued on.

As he walked, his mind drifted wondering about his parents, his family and his friends. His mind drifted to Lan, to the time before the crisis. He laughed bitterly to himself, realizing his loss of innocence and how ignorance really was bliss. He never expected himself to dee death, or at least not so much of it. He had never expected to see a war in his lifetime, hell he had never expected that any of this would happen.

Briefly, he entertained the thought of what would have happened had the crisis had never happened. He supposed that he wouldn’t have made both Jiù zhǔ, Yōulíng, the military wouldn’t have taken such an interest in him. His older cousin and Lan would still be alive, and maybe his father would have taken him places once he turned 16.

Actually –he supposed- maybe it was better that the crisis had happened. Otherwise he probably would have been forced to work with his father and uncle in a stuffy business office until he was old enough to get a job of his own.

Briefly, Lee remembered a tale of his father telling his mother after he returned from a Trip to Hong Kong when he was 12. His father had been enjoying his time around the city when a filthy Street rat had snuck up behind him and snagged his wallet. Ray had tried to give chase but the street rat was gone before he knew it.

He wondered if he’d ever get to travel the world or see different countries such as Hong Kong. He exhaled through his nose. Focus Lee, You’re in a warzone. You need to be alert!

He pushed on, forcing himself to continue until the city began to darken further. He needed to find a place to rest soon. The Lions could run for at least three days on a single charge, and that wasn’t accounting for sleep mode.

He really needed to find a working car at some point.

In the darkness, he missed something vital. As he passed by a dark shop on his right, he missed the tall and imposing figure standing guard in the shadows. All he heard was the grinding sound of metal on metal before he heard the deep reverberating bass of the Bastion. Before he could turn to face the battle worn omnic, the omnic opened fire the spray of the bullets wizzing past before pain exploded in his upper thigh.

The sudden searing pain laced up his right side as his leg buckled from the sudden impact. Leaning to his left he fell back, the lions next to him growling as he let out a wounded roar. He hit the ground with unforgiving force, his mind reeling from the sudden shock. Jiù zhǔ’s nose pressed into Lee’s cheek, trying to force him up while Yōulíng stood in front of her operator as the Bastion limped towards Lee. Pressing a hand over the bleeding wound, Lee looked up noticing the shot out optic of the omnic. No wonder why he hadn’t seen it.

Unable to reach his rifle, he reached for a frag instead, switching hands so he could applying pressure. “We’re already dead you Bastard, so we might as well make you pay for it.”

Pulling the Pin, Lee threw the frag at the omnic’s head. The Bastion however caught the frag and looked at it before turning it’s attention back to Lee. Lee felt his blood freeze as he realized the frag was a dud. This was it, he was a goner for sure now. Both Lions had begun to growl at the Bastion while the bastion held up the frag and laughed with odd screeching chirps and deep booming bass.

It was then that the Frag went off in the Bastion’s face. Lee flinched, trying to cover his head with one arm, feeling shrapnel pepper him, the flames searing his uniform as it passed.  Shivering at the close encounter, he peeked out around his arm. The Bastion was destroyed.

The lions each nudged his side, urging him up. Wincing, he eased himself up to his good leg, crying out then he couldn’t put much weight on his right leg. He was fucked if he didn’t act soon. Looking around he opted to crawl to the Starbucks just a door up.  Surely he could make do with something in there.

Getting to his hands and knees he crawled while mewling loudly. The lions flanked him, keeping an eye out for more omnics. Lee just hoped he didn’t encounter a Revenant. He remembered some years prior when he had raided the mall with his friends, seeing a tall imposing figure with two White-orange unblinking eyes staring at him, a faint gleam came from where he supposed its mouth was. A year prior, it was confirmed by several other nations that they had also caught sightings of the same series omnics.

It had been the French that had finally captured one, dubbing the variant as “Revenants”. The omnics were tall and skeletal like, somewhat reminiscent of a terminator yet more slender and sharp looking. The mouth line on its faceplate was jagged like a cartoony representation of sharp teeth. The trick however was that this omnic could unhinge its jaw and open its mouth, revealing two rows of small sawblades in its mouth.  Unlike other omnics it had a human proportioned “ribcage”, and thing long limbs, ending in spindly fingers.

Revenants (Draugar, Zomnics and other terms from other cultures) were built for speed and stealth and thus were easy to take down. However they loved to hide in buildings such as this. Lee growled, using the butt of his rifle to smash the glass, pulling himself into the shop with a quiet sob. “Hey you two, sweep the store, I’m going to see if I can patch myself up.”

The Lions exchanged a look, before going off to sweep the entire store. Pulling himself up and onto the counter, he threw his pack onto the counter and pushed it to the sink, turning the spigot and reaching under it in the near dark. The hiss of water was comforting. Reaching into his pack he pulled out a flashlight and pointing it at the ceiling before turning it on. It was stupid to do and the omnics would easily spot him, but at this point, he didn’t care. He needed rest and medical attention. He would rather take a risk and patch himself up properly, rather than put it off and bleed out as he slept.

Feeling ashamed, he began to undress to some degree, throwing his jacket and vest to the side so he could move freely. His pants were next pulling his leg out of his underwear with difficulty and using the lose cloth to cover up. The Lions returned with a nod. Looking at this techpad, Lee saw an affirmative symbol. The store was secure.

“Keep watch while I do this.” Lee sighed, reaching for his knife and Pepper-Cat’s med kit. Pepper cat wasn’t equipped for field surgery, nor was Lee. However his bio-engineering class did involve a lot of anatomy lessons and the like. It would have to suffice.

Washing his blade under steaming hot water, he attempted to disinfect it. Once satisfied, he reached into the med-pack and pulled out two Hypos, one a numbing agent, the other a powerful painkiller. Pulling the cap off the numbing agent first, he pressed it to the skin near the wound and pressed the button. He yelled out, the hypo hissing as he was injected with the numbing agent. Putting the cap back on and placing it in an empty case in Pepper-cat’s bag, he repeated the process with the painkiller.

He leaned back against the wall and exhaled, timing the two hypos to know when they had taken effect. It wasn’t long before his head was swimming, his mind rather unfocused. He almost didn’t realize that the combination of the two drugs were causing a massive side effect. Scooting closer to the sink, he lifted his hand from the wound and began to wash it, groaning at the sensation at the wound site. The lions watched on warily, watching him pick up the knife up and place the blade on his skin near the wound site.

_This was stupid._

Meticulously, he began to operate on himself, trying his hardest to keep his mind focused and his eyes open. His stomach lurched as he fought not to get sick. Just when he thought all was lost, he saw the glimmer of metal in his leg.

Carefully, he eased the bullet out, trying not to tense his leg as he pulled the offending bullet free. Once it was free, he washed it off and placed it in his pocket. If he survived this, it was going to make one hell of a souvenir.

Unable to tell if there was any other metal left in there, he tried to patch his leg up. And idea came to him. His leg wouldn’t heal like this, and even if it did, it would cause problems. He needed to cauterize it. Looking around, he saw a large metal cup and some tongs. He motioned to them, pulling a lighter out of his pack. “I need those, and any… anything flammable.”

The lions sprang into action but before Lee could see them grab anything, his vision went dark and he fell backwards.

_______________

In all honesty, Lee had though that he was dead but as he began to regain conscious, he noticed several things. First was that he was propped up, his head resting on a bag and his feet raised by the legs of a chair. His leg was bandaged and he had been redressed, his jacket thrown over him.  Secondly, he had been moved to the floor feeling lower than he had been when he had blacked out. Thirdly, his mouth felt a lot more moist than he expected.

Groaning he opened his eyes raising a hand to block the bright sunrays that streamed into the shop. Ok, so about midday he guessed. But how had he gotten here? He didn’t remember much after ordering his lions. Had he blacked out due to the medicinal cocktail? Had he managed to look after himself?

Before he could ease himself up he heard something move above him, clothing rubbing against each other before a modulated voice spoke. “Hey, you alive kid?”

Lee’s eyes snapped open as he forced himself up trying to move. Sitting on the counter above him was a humanoid omnic dressed in an SAF uniform. The omnic held up his hands, the two thin slits for eyes staring at him. “Calm down, you shouldn’t move much, you’re still recovering.”

“Who are you?” Lee croaked backing into a corner as pain tore through his thigh. “How did you find me!?”

To his surprise, when the Omnic hopped the counter, the lions ran up to it and pawed at his legs, their tails wagging. The omnic chuckled warmly and sat across from Lee, petting the lions. “The name’s 2-4. Call sign Radar. I worked in comms before they shipped me and my squad out to this hellhole.”

“How did you find me?” Lee repeated, surprised to find his guns near his bag, the safety turned on. He reached for his pistol, turning the safety off and resting the gun on his knee. The omnic seemed unfazed and continued to pet the mechs.

“I head sound of gunfire and ran to investigate. Before I could get there, I heard more gunfire. It sounded closer. Eventually I heard a bang and I realized that someone must be still alive in this area, so I kept looking. Eventually I saw the smoking remains of a Bastion and a light on in here. When I approached, these guys here were panicking and when I saw you on the counter I realized why.” 2-4 looked up at Lee, the warmth in his voice sincere. “I figured you’d been working on yourself, so I checked out your wound, cauterized what I couldn’t stitch up. And made sure to keep you safe till you woke up.”

Lee’s grip on his gun relaxed slightly. “Why help me? Where’s your squad?”

“Gone. The Omnics wiped them out.” 2-4 paused in petting the mechs, shifting to get comfortable. “Judging by your supplies, same thing happened to you too huh?”

“Yeah. We just entered yesterday. We were headed to OutRam and Kallang as other squads were, and we were ambushed at Pearl's Hill Terrace. All of Romulus Company save for me was wiped out. My CO Major sun promoted me to Squad leader and Captain before he passed. I think it was just a token gesture.” Lee spat, reaching for his canteen.

“Damn, they’re trying to move back up. What a shitfest.” 2-4 crossed his arms. “So, I take it you’re still headed in that way?”

“Yup.” Lee sighed as he reached for his pack to pull out some rations while his stomach roared. “Once I can get back on my leg that is.”

“Mind if I join you?” 2-4 watched the human raise his head. “To be honest I’m getting rather lonely hiding here and looking for survivors is getting bleak. Finding more bodies than people these days. Besides, safety in numbers. I haven’t been able to crack the Omnic’s jammers yet, but I’m getting close.”

Lee considered it as he pulled apart part of the MRE. Having the omnic around could be useful, it would mean he had someone to watch his six as well as someone to talk to. If he was working on disabling the jammers too, then it would help boost their progress.

“Why not? It wouldn’t hurt to have someone join me.” Lee smiled, putting the entre aside to prepare as while he reached over to shake the omnic’s hand. “Liao Lee.”

“Pleasure to meet you sir.” 2-4 accepted the hand shake, watching the boy recoil at his words.

“Sir?”

“You outrank me.” The omnic jabbed a thumb at himself. “I’m just a private.”

Lee scoffed. “I’m not even 17 yet. Besides, calling me sir sounds wrong.”

“Get used to it.” The omnic laughed. “So where did you find these two?”

“I built them.” Lee smirked, checking on his food before launching into an explanation behind his mechs.  The omnic seemed impressed and the two traded stories for hours. Lee realized on thing, he hated being alone.

The next day the two set off again, with 2-4 staying on his right side in case the young man’s leg gave out. As expected their coms didn’t work with long range, but 2-4 had set up a shortwave com system so they could contact each other is they got split up. Lee didn’t exactly understand how it worked, but 2-4 had said something about it being a signal hidden in an underlay of dead noise and communication. If intercepted, it would at first appear to be someone attempting to transmit, with no connection or established connection.

To Lee, having a working com again was nice.

“I really wish I had added something like that to my Lions.” Lee complained as they walked further. “Then I wouldn’t have to rely on my tech pad.”

“Oh?” 2-4 asked, aiming his rifle down a street. “It can’t support a text feed?”

“Not really no.” Lee shook his head, aiming down the opposite path. “It can’t support the need for all the monitor feeds, gauges, and all that Jazz, so instead I added a basic sound modulator for some communication as well as icon indicators on the screen for faster communication.”

“Maybe it’s smarter that way.” 2-4’s gun lowered. “You don’t want to be reading your pad and then realize you have a bullet in your head.”

“Fair point. But text to speech would have been useful.”

“True but that could overlap with coms.” 2-4 pondered as they continued. “Unless they had a different com channel or people could also listen to their words.”

Lee nodded, looking over the omnic’s rifle. Interestingly, the omnic had modified a Bastion’s rifle into a primary weapon. Ammo wasn’t a problem as it had a setting to use either standard SAR rounds or E-54 Bastion rounds. “What happened you tour gun?”

“Bastion crushed it and my squad mate’s jammed at the wrong time. Had to result to fragging the bastard. About the only thing left intact was the rifle so I did some jury rigging and got it to work like this.” 2-4 hefted the weapon proudly. “I bet you could improve it huh?”

“I could try a few things.” Lee smirked, pulling the black mask he found up over his face. “Man I should paint this.”

“Oh, how so?” the omnic asked, watching the lions run ahead.

“Well, I’m thinking of how some masks have like skulls or something on them, I’m thinking a lion’s maw, like teeth and everything. If I can find blue paint that would be awesome.” Lee smirked. “Wait, is it wrong that I’m trying to put on the badass act?”

“Nah! I mean you started to perform surgery on yourself and were going the straight up cauterize the wound.” 2-4 waved a hand. “That takes balls. I say go for it.”

Lee laughed. “If you say so!”

2-4 was about to respond when one of the loud let out a short roar, standing stiff as they stared forward. The two raised their rifles and pushed up slowly. Pressing the com button at his throat to ensure it still worked,  Lee nodded. “Pushing up first. Watch my six as we do a clean sweep. Radio silence unless we see anything else.”

“Read you loud and clear. Over and out.” 2-4 motioned back.

Lee and the Lions approached first, watching as they took him to a building. The Glass door remained closed and intact. Stabilizing himself, he kicked with his bad leg and winces as the doors opened. He was going to feel that one later, he knew it.  

Slipping in, he turned on his flashlight and looked around. The lobby seemed clear. Hearing 2-4’s boots behind him, he moved up to explore the offices. He had barely passed one door when he heard it slowly creak open.  Turning, he only had time to register the vague shape of a face before something hard and wooden hit him in the head, causing him to fall back, his world turning dark again.


	5. Lion Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a rogue male lion wanders the plains of the Savanah looking for a place to call home, either he must take over a pride or he must allow other stragglers to join him and form his own pride. From there he gains a family, and members to help him defend his home and all he loves. Lions that are willing to do whatever it takes to defend their home, lions willing to make the sacrifice to protect what they love mose. When they go against their enemies, they hear lions voice and they learn to fear it while our allies learn to join it and yearn for it. 
> 
> But in a place where Lions aren't native and have never naturally existed, where are the Lions that cave the island nation it's namesake? Where are the Lions who are meant to defend the Lion City?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Borhon, and Bas Genesis for allowing me to use their screen-names as character names in this when I was struggling for names for the two characters. I also want to apologize to Borhon again. When i was working on the character Borhon, I had created his kit and showed my friend. Let's just say what I wrote, unknowingly matched things my friend would be into and i didn't know it until i sent him the Lion Force roster. Oops. The funny thing was that he hadn't told anyone either. Had I known that Borhon was into the combat style and the weaponry I gave the character prior to writing it, i would have given them to another character. fitting a guess. 
> 
> Also in case anyone's wondering, 2-4's name it literally Pronounced "Two four". I was trying to come up with an omnic name and i started thinking about communications references and instead of my mind thinking "10-4" it thought "2-4". It sounded odd enough so i decided to keep using it.

“I’m getting a little sick and tired of getting knocked out.” Lee flipped the man off as 2-4 pressed a cold hand to his temple. “Who the fuck uses Tonfa at such a close range!? You could have killed me!”

The soldier shrugged and leaned back against the wall. After Lee had been knocked out by the friendly soldier, the man had discovered his error when he pulled back Lee’s mask and discovered that he was human. It was clear the man wasn’t quite trusting of Omnics.

“I said I was sorry… God, who covers up their face in an omnic fucking crisis when humanoid omnics are going rogue!?” the taller man argued.

“We have larger heads than you. Did you honestly think an omnic could have such a small head?” 2-4 argued. Lee let out a noise drawing both of their attention to him.

“Look, we’re all at fault here, so let’s just agree to disagree and move on.” Lee looked up. “Seeing although I was an idiot not to wear my helmet, you can start by telling me why you’re not wearing yours, why you’re not wearing a jacket and more importantly, just who the hell you are!”

The man snorted, seemingly amused as he bent one leg and rested his wrist upon it. “Private Zhang Borhon. Originally from Hong Kong. Callsign’s Tigerstrike. I only wear my vest and pads because they don’t bother me. My helmet on the other hand, it’s not my style.”

“Surprised you haven’t lost your head yet.” 2-4 joked, seeing the Hong Konger quirk an eyebrow.

“Don’t be so sure of that Omnic.” He spat. “I’ve been alone for weeks. Thought I was going crazy when I saw you guys earlier and hear you kick in the door.”

Lee looked over the man’s gear. He carried a Bullup Rifle, a set of Trench Knives and his tonfa. Lee’s eyes widened. “Close quarters specialist. That’s interesting. Takes guts to take on omnics using hand to hand.”

“I did a lot of training before the crisis.” Borhon calmed a bit as he turned to face him. “Proving useful now. Who are you?”

“Liao Lee. Callsign Spectral Savior.”

“Captain Liao Lee.” 2-4 corrected.

“I told you, I’m not used to thank rank. I think Major sun gave it to me to boost my morale and help make me think that I could finish this mission.” Lee sighed. “God I was an idiot. This isn’t how I wanted to be promoted.” 

“What other ways are there to promotion?” Borhon asked, reaching into his pack for his canteen. “This is war kid. Take it where you can get it.”

“This isn’t war at this point, it’s becoming slaughter!” Lee cried, getting to his feet and wincing. “The omnics have turned our own tactics and strength against us and I’m supposed to just get a promotion because I was the only one left standing when my CO was dying!?”

The 21 year old looked at the teenager in front of him. The boy had a point. “Look, my point is, is that he wouldn’t have promoted you if you didn’t deserve it or show something to prove you deserved it. He saw something in you and he was willing to give you a chance. Even if you don’t deserve it now, maybe he knew you’d do something to deserve it later.”

Lee sighed and looked away. The older man seemed to be speaking from experience.  Heading back down the hall he started for the Lobby. “I suppose you’ll want to join us then.”

“Might as well.” Borhon got to his feet. “I’d rather not be alone after the last few weeks. Is it just me, or is it coincidence that the three of us have been the only survivors of our squads?”

Lee paused, he hadn’t really realized that. “I think it is, I mean what purpose would the omnics have to leave us alive?”

“Seek out other survivors?” 2-4 asked. “I mean that’s why I came running when I heard the Bastions going at you and your squad. It would make sense to have someone stupidly lead you to your targets.”

“That’s not helping your case any omnic.” Borhon grunted as he followed the two out.

“Oh eat me.” 2-4 waved his hand nonchalantly.

Lee laughed, putting his helmet back on. “Ok settle down. First priority, get to the objective. Secondary priority, look for survivors and recruit them.”

“If there’s anyone left.” Borhon sighed. “A lot of remains hanging about. It’s very unsettling.”

“I bet.” Lee shuddered. “But if we all found each other, I’m sure there’s others out there somewhere.”

“We should find power for your mechs.” 2-4 pointed out. “They won’t be able to continue for long. Without a charge.”

Lee looked down and exchanged a look with his Lions. He was right, their energy levels were getting low. He had their charging pads but so far nowhere had had power. If only he had been able to carry them on his pack. 2-4 was overloaded with gear and supplies as well, but Borhon only had some ammo and his canteen. Lee hummed.

“Borhon, as soon as we find a bag, I need you to split the weight of my gear. I need to conserve the Lions energy and I can’t carry them with all the weight on this pack.”

“Not to mention your leg. That can’t be helping it.” 2-4 added.

Borhon rolled his eyes. “Fine… but what happens if they shut down before then?”

Lee bit his lip. “Carry them? Unless we can find a car to drive in.”

They all thought a moment. What were the chances that they’d find a working car that had fuel and wouldn’t break down?

“Unlikely.” They all agreed in unison continuing on foot.

 

Lee hated the rain. It wasn’t so much an issue with the rain itself, but forcing themselves onwards with little rest, with wet gear and carrying two low powered mechs was starting to wear on them. Borhon had managed to find a pole and after some work had cut it down to a reasonable length, allowing the lions to bite either end and hang on while Borhon slung the pole across his shoulders and walked. It allowed them to go into sleep mode to conserve energy, but without them, they were getting surprised more and more often.

Lee was wet, cold, tires and still sore. The wound was much better and as far as they knew, he didn’t have any infections, but his feet were sore as hell from all the walking. He forced himself onwards. That’s what command would have wanted him to do right?

He was starting to question them. Why would they send multiple squads into a death trap, especially a large numbers under 18 youths? The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to tell command to go fuck themselves, provided he got out alive. Knowing command, they thought they were dead too.

Lee stopped and looked up as the rain ran off his helmet. He let out an angry sigh that made his squad mates pause. “Lee?”

“You know what, fuck command!” Lee snapped. “It’s not them or the politicians sending innocent people out to get their heads blown off or to go into situations they themselves won’t have to face. What’s our mission?”

“To recapture OutRam and Kallang.” Borhon shook his head to shake the rain out of his hair, pausing to add “Sir.”

Lee grit his teeth. “Then if command can disregard the repeated failures of sending their men and women into this shithole, then I can disregard their fucking mission timeline. C’mon! Let’s get out of this rain. I’m getting sick of it.”

“Thank you God!” 2-4 cried. “Finally we’re going to do things our way.”

“I’m only pushing us on because it’s what command would want.” Lee growled. “I shouldn’t be on my leg or abusing it like I have been, and I shouldn’t be pushing us forwards like we have been. I’m not taking you guys into consideration and I apologize for that. There’s no excuse.” Lee admitted, hanging his head. 2-4’s hand patted his back.

“Captain Liao, I appreciate the gesture. We’re all inexperienced and following what command demanded of us, blindly if I may say so. The fact that you’re showing concern for us and even admit to it is a great sign of leadership and maturity.” 2-4 put a thumb up. “You’re right. Fuck command, while we’re out here, we really should do what the situation demands.”

“I have to agree with 2-4.” Borhon nodded, shaking his head again to shake off the water. “At least you’re giving a fuck.”

Lee smirked. “We’re the ones fighting. If we keep pushing on, it’ll come back to bite us. Let’s see if we can find a safe place to stop for a while.”

“There’s a 7-11 just up ahead. Maybe we can camp there.” Borhon pointed with his head.

“There’s also a gas station. Maybe they have something that could help us.” Lee agreed, starting off again. “Good thinking.”

As they approached, they began to feel uneasy, as if something was watching them. As they got closer, they noticed two figures standing outside watching them. They paused. One of them looked like they had a minimum.

“I sense a fight.” Lee whispered, hitting a button on his techpad. Both Lions woke instantly and dropped to their paws, allowing Borhon to drop the pole. “Get ready.”

“Born ready.” 2-4 lifted his firles as did the other two humans. Slowly approaching, they all clicked off their safety and aimed at the figures.

“Halt!” An omnic voice cried out as the minigun began to spin up. “Identify yourselves!”

“You first Mother fucker!” Borhon cried. “Before I blow your head off!”

“Watch it! Last warning ah!” a young man’s voice called out. Lee’s rifled lowered a bit. He knew that voice. No,… was it?”

“Why should we!? Give me one good reason!”

“Borhon calm down!” Lee said, taking his eyes off the figures.

“SAF! Now we ask again, Identify yourselves!”

Lee knew that voice. Reaching out with his hand he pushed the barred of Borhon’s rifle down. “Borhon calm down before you get us killed! That’s an order!”  Lowering his rifle he stepped forward allowing the two to rain their guns on him. “Chan Lei? Is that you?”

One of the figures lowered his gun. “Liao!?”

“The very same.” Lee clicked on the safety and shouldered his rifle. “You sister always was hot man.”

“You git!” Lei laughed loweing his weapon. “You absolute fucking son of a bitch! Hey Bas, cool it. We can trust him.”

“You sure? The omnic turned to face the human.”

“He’s an old friend of mine.” Lei waved, heading to the door and opening it. “Guys! You won’t believe who just showed up!”

“Old friends?” 2-4 asked, lowering his gun.

“Yup. C’mon.” Lee nodded heading to the store, growing nervous as the omnic with the minigun put it down. The omnic was modified, his features making him look rather wolf like, complete with the tail to match. The Omnic’s eyes powder blue eyes glowed before he turned back to the store as two other men tumbled out.

“Lee!”

“Fuck man! You look good!”

“Wang! Yao!” Lee greeted as the boys charged each other in a hug. How the fuck did you guys survive?”

“We stuck together.” Wang grinned. “You pick up some stragglers too?”

“How many do you have with you?” Borhon approached, eying Bas warily.

“Five.” Yao replied, reaching down to pet the lions. “Hey guys! You’ve been keeping him safe huh?”

“Not lately, they’re low on power.” Lee admitted. “Last few days haven’t been fun.”

“The whole OutRam- Kallang mission hasn’t been fun.” Lei shook his head. “Tell us something we don’t know.”

“Good thing I decided to stop then.” Lee nodded looking around. Bas opened the door, allowing the new additions to enter before hefting his minigun inside. The store had been fortified,  and set up as a temporary barracks by the ragtag group. It was clear that they had raided the store for nearly all its food and water, spare supplies kicked around. The blast of cold air as lee entered made him shiver, before he realized something.

“Wait, if you have air conditioning, you must have power.” Lee said turning to Lei. Before his friend could open his mouth a woman spoke up.

“Sure thing, we just keep the lights off so we’re not as noticeable.” Lee turned seeing a girl who wasn’t much older than their group, her short pixie style hair throwing him off for a moment. “Lt. Feng Wei, call sign Sea-Lion.”

“Ok, since we’re all meeting or have Call signs now we should re-introduce ourselves.” Lee pointed out. “Liao Lee-“

“Captian.” Borhon and 2-4 corrected, causing the other to laugh or express sounds of awe.

“Fucking…. Fine! Captian Liao Lee, Callsign Spectral Savior.”

“Private 2-4, Callsign Radar.” 2-4 dropped his bag on the floor, going about removing his wet uniform.

“Private Zhang Borhon. Callsign Tigerstrike.”

“Second Lt. Chan Lei, Callsign Killer Rabbit.” Lei’s grin widened as Lee began to smile. “Yes it’s a Monty Python reference.”

“That raises question about how you got it.” Lee began to chuckle, also taking of his wet uniform.

“I’ll tell you later.” Lei promised, watching his friend.

“Second Lt Fan Wang.” Wang waved as he grabbed a bag of chips. “Callsign Tang- Man.”

“Lt Hu Yao.” The young man sat on the floor, fiddling with a radio. “Callsign Storm.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Lee shook his head while Yao laughed.

Bas stepped forward, making a noise as if to clear his throat. “Private Bas Genesis or BG for short. Callsign is Wolfie, because look at me!”

The group laughed as the new group got comfortable. Lee pulled out the charging pads and plugged them into the wall. “Here you two go. Dock and charge up.”

The lions ran for the charging pad, hopping on and turning to survey the group. Lee sat, looking around when Lei whistled. “Dude, what happened to your leg?”

Lee looked down, turning red. He had completely forgotten about the state of his pants. And what lay beneath. “Umm… long story?”

“There’s a bathroom in the back, go change. We want to know the details when you get back though.”

“Sure sure, will do.”

 

That night they all relaxed on the store floor, stomachs full, spirits higher than they had been and in dryer clothes. The larger group had accepted Lee as their Squad leader and CO with no questions asked. Lee let out an amused noise. Their team seemed rather well rounded thus far, He himself was a tech and robotics expert and fought more defensively, Lei was a heavy gunner, Wang was a sniper, and Yao was great at recon.

Wei was an interesting case, specializing in information and dealing with IT and AI studies. Bas was another heavy gunner and had the heavy SAF bear to match. He had modified a Bastion’s minigun into his own weapon, preferring the much faster fire rate.

They all agreed on one thing however, they needed a medic.

“We really should push up in a day or so.” Lei suggested. “I mean, we’ve been camped here for a few weeks and we haven’t got much. Omnics are sending out more and more scouts. Looking for the stragglers and trying to cut others off.”

“So I was right.” 2-4 looked over his gun. Lee had made some adjustments, so now it would hold together longer and better. Lee had also made a small modification to his combat knife, allowing an electrical surge to be conducted to it when a trigger was hit. How he was working on painting a Lion maw on his mask, complete with a bit of the mane. Yao and Wei were busy customizing their respirator masks in an attempt to match.

“Seems so.” Borhon grunted, more comfortable around the other humans. “Have you worked on adding them to the com system?”

“You guys have a com system?” Wang looked up from where he sat fixing Lee’s now dry pants. “How?”

“Don’t ask, it’s easier that way.” Lee yawned, tossing the brush into the ice cream container filled with water. “It’s short wave anyways.”

“Better than nothing.” Bas grumbled. “Anyone got any good stories? I need something to keep me primed and war ready.”

“Not really no.” Wang said looking over his handy work. “There, you can’t tell you were shot.”

“Xièxiè.” Lee thanked taking the clothing back and slipping it on. With the new undergarment and fixed pants, he felt less embarrassed. He leaned back against the wall. “So a few more days and we should be able to get close to Kallang.”

“Be careful.” Bas shook his head. “That place is crawling with the big guns. Troopers, Eradicators, Bastions and OR 12s. Revenants are more plentiful there too.”

“How do you know?” Lee question, curious.

“I was in the initial force sent in. I’ve made repeated attempts to make it past their line of defense but it’s been a real clusterfuck.” Bas sat, his claws tapping the tiled floor. “Even if we get in there’s no guarantee that what we’ll run into.”

Lee scratched his chin, feeling the stubble scratching as his finger. Bas was right, they couldn’t get in by foot, they’d get cut down. They had to find another way in. Preferably a way that wouldn’t result in their detection for a while and would allow them to bypass whatever nasty surprises were in wait for them. Whatever it was had to be fast or at least not obvious. He wracked his brain trying to think. It was a shame they couldn’t tunnel under the enemy lines , it would have been an interesting-

“Of course!” Lee suddenly burst out causing his squad to jump at his sudden outburst. “It’s genius and the Omnics wouldn’t expect it! And maybe, just maybe it would tip off command that someone’s still alive in here.”

“What?” Bas leaned in. “Do you have an idea?”

“Yeah… Does anyone have the offline MRT map on their phone?”

The squad looked at each other before Yao slid his phone over. “You’re such a nerd.” Lei teased.

“Says the one whose ass has been saved by my nerd knowledge several times over.” Yao rolled his eyes.

Lee pulled a device out of his pack and set it up, hooking the phone up to it and projecting a small holographic screen from the device. “Ok so here’s what I’m thinking, we use the MRT lines to get in. There’s one that goes directly to Kallang. The omnics shouldn’t expect a train arriving at the platform. If we’re lucky we shouldn’t have to fight much and nothing should be there.”

“Ok, but how does that tie into command knowing that we’re still alive?” Wei asked, sounding interested.

“After the Omnics took over, certain stations have been taken off the service list. I’m not sure how we’ll get the train started again, but likely we’ll have to gain access to their computer systems. Bas you said this area still has power in certain places yeah?” Lee’s grin grew wider as the holoscreen reflected in his eyes. “If so, the mere act of us gaining access to their systems will trip something in both command and on the MRT operator’s consoles. We can use their com lines to contact command and head in.”

“We still don’t know what to expect though.” Borhon pointed out. “This sounds like utter suicide.”

“True, but them sending us on this mission was like handing us a gun and telling us to commit suicide!” Lei pointed at the older man.  “Besides, Liao’s squad leader. Unless you have a better plan, it may be all we have.”

“I never said this wouldn’t have risks.” Lee swallowed. “I personally wouldn’t send you guys into a situation that I myself wouldn’t enter into. I’d go alone but I’m not stupid.  If you guys want another solution, I’m open to suggestions.”

“What stations are our best bet?”  2-4 asked as everyone leaned into the map.

“East West line. There’s three lines that will bring us right into Kallang.” Lee pointed. “We either go to City Hall or backtrack a bit and go to Raffles Place. The Kallang station is above ground, so we will be seen at some point shortly before we get to the station, but we’ll also have the high ground when we get there. Lavender’s entrance is in a mall I think? Take your pick.”

The soldiers looked over the map. As Lee overlayed the MRT map with a map of Singapore. “Kallang’s a big place. We can’t secure an area this big.” Yao grumbled. “Maybe if all our squads had surviced, maybe, and even then we’d have trouble.”

“Here’s what I’m thinking.” Lee pondered selecting the area. “If and when we can get in touch with command we tell them to send reinforcements in. While we suddenly appear and wreck omnic shit, and catch them unawares, Command –if they’re not complete assholes on this- send in reinforcements, and hit them from the other end. Kind of sandwich forces and take them out.”

“Easier said than done, but I get what you’re saying.” Borhon nodded. “But we haven’t secured this area yet.”

“That’s where Reinforcements come in. Let’s be honest, there’s only small groups of omnics trying to ambush us. Remember, Omnics only release Slicers once they’re sure they’ve gotten almost everyone in an area.” Lee looked around the store before continuing. “There’s still a lot of people trapped in Kallang and omnics are slowly moving up to the Outram border to break into our secure zones. It’s like they’re waiting for something.”

“It’s a trap.” 2-4 realized. “As soon as we send in a huge force, they’ll try to weaken us….but what you’re saying is that if we send a huge force into here and play to their hand AND we send ourselves and a another decent sized force into Kallang to both help us and to his the forces in the backlines, we can completely capture both and fight back.”

“Now it makes sense!” Lei’s hand smacked his face. “They’re playing us like a violin.”

“Before we go in, we need to look around and see if we can find any other survivors. Anyone who can help.”

“That’s where I can come in handy.” Wei put her hand up. “There’s someone in the area that flies small air drones. If we can capture one and track it we may be able to find who’s flying it and ask for their help. I also know there’s an omnic kicking around somewhere who I’ve seen fighting Slicers on occasion.”

“At this point, I’ll take anyone.” Lee grinned. “Wait…. There’s one more thing. Didn’t Leo go missing in this area?”

“Yeah, I lost track of that fucker when my squad was destroyed.” Bas nodded, as he interlocked his fingers. Leo or “Lionheart” as his callsign stated, had protected the Prime Minister and evacuated her to safety shortly before the Omnic Invasion. It was because of Leo that Singapore had even been warned and got out part of the public warning before Omnics cut communications.

Leo was more of a diplomat but had insisted that he help out on the war. He used a basic side arm and a Kinetic shield, fashioned in a riot shield style. Lee knew they had to find him.

“He’s been missing for months, but if we can survive, I bet he did too.” Lee grinned. Hit the Racks guys. Tomorrow, we have a lot of ground to cover.”

“Our squad needs a name.” Borhon cracked a smile. “A good one that defines us.”

Before Lee could control his mouth, he blurted out the first one that came to mind. “Lion Force.”

He hear a snort and turned bright red. It did sound stupid, like a Power Rangers spin off or a super hero group. He was about to open his mouth to retract it when Wei gave him a chance. “Why Lion Force?”

Lee’s answer was sincere and truthful. “So far all of us are bringing unique skills to the table, and we’re willing to try unconventional methods to win this war. Is that not what a Special Forces group does? I’m not saying we are one or will become one, but we have all the same basic traits of one.”

The group nodded as Lee got to his feet, feeling compelled to continued. “A rogue male lion wanders the plains of the Savanah looking for a place to call home. Either he must take over a pride or he must allow other stragglers to join him and form his own pride. Is that not what we’ve been doing in this hellhole!?”

The group let out a cheer as Lee got caught in the moment, spreading his arms and lifting them. “Then I say we live up to our name sake! This is Singapore, Singapura! The Lion City! And what does a Lion do when its home is attacked, when all he loves is threatened and he stands to lose everything? He fights! He fights to protect his home!”

The soldiers cried once more as Lee shouted so he would be heard. “It’s time that Singapore is protected by its very namesake. It’s time that we fight as the lion would to protect our home and all that we love! Singapore is our home and we will protect her to the last breath and to the last man or woman. We should be reborn as a pride of Lions, Lions that are willing to do whatever it takes to defend out home. When we go against the omnics, they will hear our voice and they will learn to fear it while our allies will learn to join it and yearn for it. Now what are we!?”

“We are Lions! We are Lion Force!” The squad chanted, yelling as loud as they could. Jiù zhǔ, Yōulíng let out their small and relatively quiet roars. Lee grinned. His hands clenched into fists.

“Then let’s do something that people won’t soon forget! Let’s teach the omnics that lions do live in Singapore, but not in the way they expect.”

**Author's Note:**

> 愿狮子保护我 / Yuàn shīzi bǎohù wǒ - I was trying for "May the lions protect me" . I was told by Nightengale that it translated something more like "Hope/Pray the lions protect me". oops  
> Jiù zhǔ: Savior  
> Yōulíng: Spectre


End file.
